The Butterfly Effect
by tsukiaka
Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime is a university student with the ability to go back several minutes in time and prevent fatal accidents, an ability he calls Revival. He never expected to be framed for murder, or to go back ten years to his elementary school days and have the chance to save the life of his best friend. A Boku dake ga inai machi AU.
1. (2014) Hollow

**Chapter 1 – 2014: Hollow**

" _Nee-chan promised to pick me up and show me something special today! You worry too much, Iwa-chan, just go," Oikawa grinned, attempting to pull his alien-patterned beanie further down to cover his ears but failing, the mass of brown hair on his head causing the beanie to slide back up each time._

 _Iwaizumi held back a snort as Oikawa tried not to shiver in the cool air, giving him a light punch in the arm, as the tree branches nearby swayed slightly with the wind. "If you insist, Shittykawa."_

" _Mean as usual," Oikawa pouted as Iwaizumi smiled, moving towards his mum, who was standing by the school gates with her usual look of amusement at the antics of the two boys, the Iwaizumi family car sitting behind her._

" _Don't complain about getting sick when you're the one choosing to stay out here!" Oikawa pulled his tongue out at Iwaizumi in response._

" _Says the one who was in bed all weekend because he caught the flu!"_

 _Iwaizumi let Oikawa have the last word as he reached the car, leaping into the warmth it offered. He looked out through the window once the door was closed, where Oikawa was waving his gloved hand in farewell, mouthing words that Iwaizumi knew said "Bye, Iwa-chan!"_

 _Iwaizumi kept staring at Oikawa, attempting to look as displeased as possible, but deep down enjoying the antics of his best friend. He kept staring until his mum started the engine and starting driving, Oikawa fading from his sight._

 _That was the last time that Iwaizumi Hajime saw Oikawa Tooru alive, and it would be a memory that haunted him for the next ten years._

 _What if Iwaizumi had forced Oikawa to go home with him that day?_

* * *

Iwaizumi waited anxiously outside the entrance of the library, staring as the second hand of his watch ticked closer to twelve. He gripped the handle of his backpack tightly, trying not to overthink the situation that he was about to throw himself into. He reminded himself that yes, he was a 3rd year maths major at Tokyo University, one of the most prestigious universities in Japan, that he had successfully looked over the content he was going to run through today, and no, he definitely was _not_ going to be surprised by any ten-year-old in his area of speciality. Definitely not.

Iwaizumi clung firmly onto this belief, repeating it as a mantra several times in his head as a young boy with a fully shaved head and his tall, stern faced father beside him carrying a briefcase approached him. He could do this. He willed himself to remember the determination he had when he set his New Year's resolutions, vowing to try new things, interact with people, and actually enjoy his life. He could not keep wallowing in the emptiness that he had let take over at the start of middle school, an emptiness he still wasn't sure of the origins of. How tutoring ten-year-olds for a decent sum of money fell directly into his resolutions Iwaizumi was not one hundred percent certain, but it was something new he was doing, and at least he was using his social skills to interact with someone, even though they may have been just a kid he was tutoring.

"Iwaizumi-san?" Iwaizumi released his grip from the handle of his backpack, looking away from his watch and acknowledging the father as he approached him with a slight nod.

"And you are Yamada-san?" Iwaizumi asked for confirmation, breathing deeply to ease his nerves.

"Correct." Iwaizumi and Yamada bowed to each other in greeting, the child next to Yamada also bowing shyly. "As discussed in our phone conversation earlier, this is my son Takeru, who is in need of a hand in maths right now. Takeru, this is Iwaizumi-sensei."

Iwaizumi noted the grimace on Takeru's face as he was introduced and made eye contact with Iwaizumi for the first time. "Pleasure to meet you, Iwaizumi-sensei." His voice was less than enthusiastic, as a small part of Iwaizumi cringed inside from a challenge he was now anticipating.

Yamada pulled out an A4-sized yellow envelope from the briefcase he was carrying, handing it to Iwaizumi. "These are Takeru's maths exams from last year. Please go over them, as well as well the initial grade 6 content we discussed on the phone. Drop Takeru back home at the address I have specified in my message in time for dinner around seven pm. Does this work for you, Iwaizumi-san?"

"Yes it does, Yamada-san. Your son is in good hands with me." Iwaizumi took the envelope from Yamada, grateful it was not extraordinarily thick. Yamada turned his attention back to Takeru.

"Make sure you study hard and listen to Iwaizumi-sensei, Takeru. I will not tolerate your nonsense for much longer." The second sentence was said in a threatening whisper, intended for Takeru's ears only, and Iwaizumi did his best to pretend that he didn't hear, feeling awkward. Yamada left without a word, leaving Takeru standing awkwardly in the middle of the pathway leading to the library entrance.

Iwaizumi approached Takeru, mentally running through the best possible ways to establish a suitable teacher/student relationship with him. He settled for getting Takeru as comfortable as possible with him, motioning for Takeru to follow him into the library, who did so quietly. Iwaizumi led Takeru to the back of the library, where he opened the door to a private room that he had booked earlier.

"Come in, Takeru," Iwaizumi invited, as Takeru stood awkwardly at the entrance. "I'm not as scary as I look." Iwaizumi did his best to look as unintimidating as possible by giving Takeru a joking smile as he took off his backpack, for once thankful he was not ridiculously tall. There wasn't much he could do to hide the outline of his arm muscles visible through his coat, having been too lazy to get a replacement coat despite the fact that the one he wore was continuously getting tighter.

Takeru let out a soft laugh, his blank face changing for the first time since Iwaizumi met him. He walked into the room, closing the door behind him and sat down in the free seat next to Iwaizumi. He seemed to have relaxed further at the sight of Iwaizumi's backpack, where a small Godzilla key chain hung from the zipper. Iwaizumi pulled out the maths papers from the envelope, lying them on the table, then bent over to his backpack where he pulled out a maths textbook. Turning to Takeru, he motioned to the two piles on the desk with his hands.

"What do you feel like first? If we get through the explanations quickly enough we can go grab a snack together before working on more problems."

Takeru's eyes lit up at the mention of food, Iwaizumi silently applauding his bribery strategy to both motivate and get Takeru comfortable with him. "You're not as boring as I thought for someone dad picked." Takeru picked up the pile of maths papers and handed them to Iwaizumi. "Let's go."

After about two hours of diligent tutoring with Takeru, where his fears of total disobedience were laid to rest as Takeru listened closely and learnt from his mistakes, Iwaizumi felt his stomach growl, hearing a corresponding growl from Takeru several seconds later. They both laughed, careful to keep the volume down.

"Would you be up for a quick snack?" Iwaizumi asked, petting his coat pockets to ensure his wallet was safely secured.

"Anything?" There was a hopeful lilt to Takeru's question as he laid the pencil he was using down onto the desk.

"Within reason." Takeru looked as if he wanted to pout, before his expression brightened up.

"The McDonalds down the road! Is that ok? Dad normally never lets me go there."

Iwaizumi weighed up the relative pros and cons to taking his student to an unhealthy, fast food outlet that clearly had been avoided by their parents, before deciding that one burger wouldn't hurt. Ignorance is bliss, so they say, and Takeru's enthusiasm was contagious.

"Yeah, that works." Takeru raised his fists in celebration.

"Thank you Iwaizumi-sensei! Actually, you're pretty cool…can I call you Iwa-sensei instead?"

Iwaizumi stiffened, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu, echoes from the past reverberating through his mind.

" _Iwa-chan! Iwa-chan! Did you see the alien special? Iwa-channnnn!"_

Iwaizumi was lost in his thoughts for several seconds before registering Takeru's grinning face. He didn't have the heart in him to decline, and forced himself away from the thoughts currently distracting him. Tutoring and getting out was his new resolution for a reason. It was time to stick to it and stop worrying about things that could not be changed.

"Not in front of your parents." That was the closest to a yes that Iwaizumi was willing to concede to Takeru. Takeru's smile grew even wider, revealing that he was missing one of his front teeth.

After a quick clean-up of their workspace, where Takeru insisted on bringing his backpack along, Iwaizumi and Takeru left the stuffy atmosphere of the library and took in deep breaths of the cooler air that surrounded them. They moved out of the quiet lane where the library resided, and onto the louder, bustling main road where the McDonalds was located.

Takeru walked alongside Iwaizumi, grinning at the prospect of a snack and accidentally whacking Iwaizumi with his backpack in his excitement. Iwaizumi made sure he moved and walked on Takeru's right, subconsciously feeling the need to place himself as a barrier between the busy main road to the right, and the joyfully grinning child to his left. With every car that drove past Iwaizumi could feel his coat flapping against his leg. He was also aware of the tell-tale signs of an argument coming from a group of teenagers standing fairly closely to the edge of the road, and Iwaizumi could not keep the scowl off his face as he walked past. Takeru too could not resist a curious second glance at the group, where the noise from the argument had risen past a generally accepted level, however a quick look ahead revealed a distant McDonalds sign about fifty metres away, quickly stealing back his focus.

"Iwa-sensei, I see it!" he yelled, grabbing Iwaizumi's wrist and attempting to pull him forward. Iwaizumi stumbled slightly, noticing the sign and fully focusing his attention on Takeru, away from the faint sounds of the bickering teenagers behind him.

"One burger _only_ ," Iwaizumi said firmly, making sure that Takeru did not run too far ahead of him. There was a challenging look in Takeru's eyes that Iwaizumi did not like, before his attention was drawn to a faint crackling noise that sent shivers of déjà vu down his spine. Stopping suddenly, Iwaizumi frantically tried to take in as much of the scenery as he could, trying to identify the trigger for the Revival about to happen, registering the faint sound of screaming and the sudden absence of traffic beside him before-

A glowing turquoise butterfly fluttered lazily to his right, leaving behind a faint trail of what looked to be turquoise glitter. Iwaizumi felt his entire body go numb for a second, before blinking and finding himself approximately one hundred metres further up the street. He didn't have any time to react before Takeru's backpack slammed into his chest, with Takeru too caught up in his excitement to notice. _Revival. Not again._

Revival was the constant, unwanted companion stuck by Iwaizumi's side that forced him to act when in reality, he just wanted to mind his own business. The first time it happened, Iwaizumi truly believed that he had gone insane. Over a decade of practice later, Iwaizumi had the clear next steps of actions imprinted into his brain, scanning his surroundings for anything that looked out of place.

"Iwa-sensei?"

"Takeru, is there anything that looks out of place to you?" Iwaizumi stopped walking, Takeru turning back curiously at the question.

"Out of place?" Iwaizumi realised his question had been a bit vague as he continued scanning his surroundings, his heartbeat racing at the prospect of the event he knew would imminently occur if he did not prevent it.

"Something that could cause an accident maybe?" Takeru started scanning his surroundings, still looking confused. Takeru's attention was drawn to the loud noise of an argument between a group of teenagers down the road. He waved to get Iwaizumi's attention, before pointing towards the group.

"They're being really loud. I don't think they should be that loud right?"

Iwaizumi remembered walking past that same group the first time, and giving them a scowl, both from the noise they were making, and their proximity to the edge of the road. As he looked closer, he noticed one of the taller teenagers involved in the argument, distinctive by his red jumper, moving his arms madly as he yelled. This could be it.

Iwaizumi started running down the footpath, dodging the people in his way if possible, as Takeru behind him struggled to keep up. As Iwaizumi started making out a few fragments of the heated discussion going on, the teenager with the red jumper made his wildest swing yet, his target, a shorter teenager with short spiked hair, leapt backward to avoid it-

"WATCH OUT!" Iwaizumi yelled, drawing the gaze of onlookers and cutting the argument short, as the spiked hair teenager fell directly into the path of an oncoming car. The sickening crunch of the teenager colliding with the bonnet of the car drew the attention of all nearby bystanders, as the teenager was thrown into the air, and into the path of another passing car. The sudden squeal of brakes highlighted the awareness of drivers to the accident, but it was obvious that the damage had already been done. Hit by two cars moving at the speed limit, Iwaizumi did not need to approach any further to know that the spiked hair teenager was dead, lying in a pool of his blood.

The screams started, panicked bystanders moving rapidly and shoving Iwaizumi roughly against the crowd. Iwaizumi's eyes were drawn to the fallen teenager, chest heaving and tight from the sudden loss of life. But it was a scene that was not completely unfamiliar with him, and this time when he heard the crackling behind him and saw the flash of turquoise, Iwaizumi embraced the immobilising numbness that spread throughout his body.

He was back at the start of the loop again, Takeru's backpack slamming forcefully into his chest again. Iwaizumi acted immediately, firmly grabbing Takeru's wrist as the boy let out an exclamation of surprise, and walked directly towards the loud group of teenagers bickering down the road.

"Iwa-sensei?" Takeru exclaimed in shock, stumbling against the crowd as he kept up with Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi threw him his most serious expression, Takeru closing his mouth in surprise, as Iwaizumi walked straight into the group of arguing teenagers.

"What's going on here?" Iwaizumi demanded, tilting his head slightly, putting on his best practiced scowl, and thankful for the hours at the gym that gave him enough muscles to pass for intimidating if required. The teenager with the red jumper looked at Iwaizumi with a disdainful look, eyes passing over Takeru standing nervously behind Iwaizumi, and smirked.

"This is none of your business, _daddy_ ," he sneered, looking back at the spiked hair teenager with amusement and anger, before suddenly throwing a roundhouse punch. It was as if time moved in slow motion. Iwaizumi knew that the spiked hair teen would dodge by stepping backward, not realising that he was already standing on the edge of the footpath. Iwaizumi lunged forward, ignoring the sudden gasp of surprise from the other teenagers around him, and grabbed the first body part that flailed in front of his face. He pulled the spiky haired teen forward towards the footpath, just as the same car that had previously hit him the first time whizzed by.

The car disappeared as quickly as it came, another car following closely behind it. The group of teenagers looked at the road with shock, with both the red jumper and spiked hair teenagers staring with particularly wide eyes. They both knew what would have happened had Iwaizumi not reached out and pulled the teenager away from the road.

"Kirihata, sorry, I didn't mean to-" The look on the teenager's faced into one of apology, body tense.

"Just leave it," the spiked hair teenager panted out, slowly pulling himself up from his fallen position on the footpath. "We're good, ok?" Iwaizumi stepped back, intending to leave with his role in this incident over, but the spiked hair teenager grabbed his shoulder.

"Thanks, I don't know what would've happened otherwise."

Iwaizumi stared down at the group, disapproval clear on his face. "Don't argue about stupid things, and particularly don't do it next to the road!"

The teenagers nodded silently, shuffling away from the edge of the road, their original argument forgotten as they realised how off track their discussion had gone. With a final nod, and bows in some cases, the teenagers left, walking in the opposite direction to the McDonalds that had been Iwaizumi's original goal.

"You're so cool, Iwa-sensei. Just saving the guy like that, BAM!" Takeru mimicked the pulling motion that Iwaizumi had pulled when saving the spiked hair teenager, as Iwaizumi motioned for him to keep walking. "Your face was scary too!"

"I didn't have much choice, Takeru," Iwaizumi replied, thoughts slightly lost as he recalled previous instances of preventing fatal events. A gas leak at a party. Overcrowding at a train station. Even a case of child abduction once. Preventing a simple stumble onto a road was probably one of the easier things he had encountered lately, but it was not something he was going to admit out loud to Takeru. "Let's just get our snacks from McDonalds, alright?"

"I want a Big Mac!"

Iwaizumi felt himself smile again. Hanging out with cheerful people was definitely contagious.

On arrival at McDonalds, Iwaizumi motioned to Takeru to find a free table, before walking to the nearest queue and waiting to place their orders. He returned several minutes later to the sight of Takeru nearly bouncing off his seat in excitement, eyeing the burgers and fries sitting on the tray that Iwaizumi was carefully manoeuvring to their table.

"Is that my Big Mac?" Iwaizumi resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he handed the burger over to Takeru, who unwrapped and attacked it without a second thought. Grabbing and unwrapping his own Big Mac, Iwaizumi was content to eat in silence, watching Takeru eat with a sense of amusement. He wondered what it would be like to have a younger sibling to look after, to spoil, and to take onto McDonalds runs.

"Thank you." It was soft, and compared to the excited sentences that Takeru let out earlier, serious.

Iwaizumi stopped mid-chew, looking back at Takeru curiously. "For what?" he asked around a mouthful of food.

Takeru gently dropped the scrunched up Big Mac wrapper on the tray, burger fully consumed. "For this. And being cool. You remind me of my real mum. She would take me out to McDonalds sometimes after school."

Iwaizumi swallowed the remainder of the food in his mouth, suddenly feeling on edge from the turn the conversation was taking. He took a sip from the cup of Coke he had ordered with his meal to soothe his suddenly dry throat.

"Your real mum?" he blurted out against his better instinct. He had seen the tension between Takeru and his dad, and did not expect at the time to be engaged in discussion about it.

"She lives in Miyagi." Takeru picked up the discarded Big Mac wrapper, only to drop it down on the tray again. Iwaizumi was startled by the name of the city that he had grown up in, and promptly left at the first opportunity. "Sometimes she gets so sad that she locks herself in that room upstairs and doesn't come down for a few days, but other times we have so much fun, just me, mum, grandma."

Iwaizumi grabbed one of the remaining French fries, using it as a distraction to maintain his neutral expression. He thought back to his childhood in Miyagi, ten years ago, to any whispers he had heard about new babies being born. There had been one, just one that he recalled, and that was because the bearer of the news had wasted no opportunities in telling Iwaizumi about how he was going to be the best uncle in the world soon.

"After grandma fell down the stairs, they said mum couldn't look after me alone, and contacted my dad." At this Takeru frowned, poking the Big Mac wrapper around the tray with his finger. "And now I'm stuck alone in Tokyo, and he hasn't let me see mum in ages."

Iwaizumi stayed silent, unable to speak. Part of his thoughts had gone back into the past he avoided thinking about, to the days when things were simpler, were happier. To the genuine laughter that surrounded Iwaizumi, to the whining that seemed never ending, but also to the clear determination that lit a fire to anyone that met with it. Just like Takeru, it seemed that Iwaizumi had lost an important part of himself back in Miyagi, but unlike Takeru, it was permanent. The dead stayed dead, no matter how much one screamed, or prayed, something that Iwaizumi was forced to confront at a young age.

"He even made me change my name, Iwa-sensei, my name!" Takeru flicked the wrapper off the table in annoyance, watching absently as it rolled weakly across the floor. "It would've been annoying if you called me Yamada-kun because sometimes I don't even realise that my classmates were talking to me, but you didn't."

Iwaizumi was drawn back to reality by Takeru's ever increasing tone, and the serious and frustrated look in his eyes a ten-year-old should not need to use. Now would have been the best time to conclude their snack time, and walk back to the library and finish off what needed to be done, but there was one question on Iwaizumi's mind that he needed to ask, a question that he could not just ignore. There was something he needed to confirm to ease his raging thoughts.

"What was your name?"

"My name is-" Takeru paused, eyes determined, boring into Iwaizumi's. "-Oikawa Takeru. It's a pleasure to meet you." It was with a tone of satisfaction, but with an undertone of sadness that Takeru replied, bowing his head as if he had just met Iwaizumi for the first time, and feeling it could be the last time he was ever able to introduce himself to someone with that name.

Iwaizumi's heart clenched, suspicions confirmed. Takeru was living, breathing evidence of the consequences that occurred because Iwaizumi that cold winter's day, had not forced his best friend to come into the car with him. Because Iwaizumi had left him waiting there alone, by the school gates. Iwaizumi had been the last person to see him alive, and became the first to find him dead.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Iwaizumi found himself saying finally, an automatic response to introductions, mind lost hundreds of kilometres away, attempting to escape from the memories that tried to swarm his mind. "I think it's time we headed back."

Takeru nodded in agreement, cleaning up their meal from McDonalds. It was with a subdued, but determined mood that they both worked through the content that had to be completed by the seven pm deadline, Takeru occasionally taking the initiative when Iwaizumi got too lost in his thoughts. With the content successfully covered by six-thirty, Iwaizumi had an easy thirty minutes to get Takeru back home, grabbing his stationary and textbook and roughly shoving it into his bag.

"All packed?" Iwaizumi asked, giving the library room one look. Despite the conversation earlier in the afternoon that gave Iwaizumi one too many reminders of his childhood, he also felt light, lighter than he had in a long time. Iwaizumi came to the realisation that he had enjoyed the tutoring session with Takeru, enjoyed going through the maths and showing someone else how to enjoy the subject. Maths had always been an enjoyable subject, a clean escape, and it didn't let him down, even when his role had swapped from student to teacher. Would he be willing to keep teaching the kid? For sure.

"I'm done," Takeru replied, hoisting his backpack onto his back, but wearing a similarly blank expression to the one he was wearing when he first met Iwaizumi earlier that day. There wasn't much that Iwaizumi could do at this point, even with the knowledge of what was troubling Takeru.

The drive to Takeru's house was mostly silent, with Takeru alternating between staring out the window, and closing his eyes and taking a short nap. The energy that he had displayed earlier seemed to have faded at the prospect of returning home. Iwaizumi glanced at him, wondering how to cheer the boy up.

"I'll be around all year to beat maths into your brain," Iwaizumi said jokingly, keeping an eye out for Takeru's reaction. "We can do snack runs each time if you do well." Takeru straightened up, giving Iwaizumi a blinding smile so familiar that it had to be a genetic Oikawa thing.

"Hahaha, of course Iwa-sensei!" Takeru leaned his head back again, returning to his observation of his surroundings, but with a slight smile on his face. He remained silent for several minutes, slight smile still on his face, until he suddenly jolted forward, staring out at the front of the car in horror.

"Iwa-sensei!" Takeru yelled in a panic, noticing the small pale blur that appeared out of nowhere and directly into the path of Iwaizumi's car. Iwaizumi slammed his foot onto the brake, wheels protesting loudly as the car lurched into a sudden stop, but not before a sudden jump had Iwaizumi gripping the steering wheel tightly, and indicating that his car had run over something. Both Iwaizumi and Takeru were thrown forward by the recoil from the sudden braking, seatbelts slamming them roughly back into their seats. Once the car was finally still, Iwaizumi looked towards Takeru with concern, taking in the boy's heavy panting, and wide, staring eyes.

"Takeru, are you ok?" There were no visible signs of injury, however Iwaizumi was also worried about how Takeru's parents would react if he bought him home shell-shocked.

"I'm fine," Takeru said in a small voice. He attempted to twist around in his seat and look out the back window, however the seat belt that was still buckled in prevented him from doing so. Taking the hint, Iwaizumi unbuckled his seat belt and took out his smartphone, activating the flash light app.

"I'll take a look," Iwaizumi said firmly, correctly guessing that Takeru wanted to find out what they had run over. Takeru nodded, his heavy breathing slowing down, as Iwaizumi opened the car door and turned his phone around experimentally, bright light illuminating the darkness.

He picked up the trail of blood immediately behind the back of his car, torch following the smear down the road. Iwaizumi followed the trail down the road, finally stopping at the remnants of a small animal, likely a rabbit. At the very least, considering the size of the mammal, it was unlikely that there would be any damage to his car, although Iwaizumi felt a twinge of guilt for the life of the rabbit that he had just stolen.

Turning away, Iwaizumi started to head back towards his car before noticing a flash of something white highlighted on the edge of the road. Focusing his torch, Iwaizumi walked towards the object until he was close enough to see that it was a plastic dog kennel, metal door ajar.

Iwaizumi frowned, stepping closer to analyse the kennel further. The outside of the kennel looked pristine, like it had only been placed there recently. It was empty on the inside apart from a few brown dots that littered the base, dots that Iwaizumi realised were rabbit droppings. Rabbits were uncommon in urban areas such as Tokyo, and Iwaizumi felt his heart rate pick up as he made the connection between the dead rabbit and the cage.

There was a faint noise up ahead that sounded like a car door being roughly slammed shut. Startled, Iwaizumi jumped and turned away from the empty kennel, running back towards his car, which was where he had left it several minutes prior, but Iwaizumi's heart rate refused to calm down for some reason.

"Takeru, it was just a rabbit," he said, approaching the door to Takeru's seat before freezing in shock. The only thing he could hear was the rapid pounding of his heart thumping in his ears as he registered the sight in front of him. _No. Not again._

 _The water was icy cold but Hajime did not care, cradling the still figure in his arms, buoyed slightly by the water, chocolate-coloured hair a sprawled mess. His brown eyes were wide, still, staring at nothing -_

Takeru's head was leaning to the side, arms splayed across both sides of the seat. His brown eyes were wide open, cheeks wet with tears, mouth open in an attempt to yell, and his chest unmoving.

 _Hajime shook the figure roughly in his arms, it had to be a joke, because there was no way that he_ _was dead, it was definitely just a bad dream –_

"Takeru!" Iwaizumi pulled opened the car door, shaking Takeru roughly as his panic rose, the shaking in his arms nearly uncontrollable as he attempted to find the pulse on Takeru's still-warm neck with his hands. "Takeru!" He couldn't feel anything that felt remotely like life, and shook Takeru weakly in an attempt to rouse him. "Takeru!" He noted the dark red marks that littered Takeru's neck, his broken fingernails, Takeru's terrified frozen face –

 _He didn't move no matter how hard Hajime shook him, no matter the amount of water he splashed around from his frantic movements. His chocolate-brown eyes continued staring into nothingness, as Hajime starting screaming and screaming from despair –_

Iwaizumi struggled to breathe as he tore himself away from Takeru, sliding down the side of the car, gripping his head roughly as the images he tried so hard to repress, to keep locked up, forced itself to the forefront of his mind. He registered the sound of approaching sirens, the dark silhouettes that signalled that he was no longer alone, and a strange noise he eventually registered as screaming.

Iwaizumi pushed himself away from his car, stumbling, he just needed to get away, far away from those brown, unstaring eyes. He struggled to keep the image separate from another pair of unstaring brown eyes, struggled to separate the sensations of shaking another completely still, completely dead ten-year-old body. Iwaizumi ran, feeling nauseous, not knowing where he was running, but not caring, he just needed to _get away_ , away from the dead Oikawas that penetrated his thoughts, his visions, his _everything_.

There was a faint crackling as the familiar glowing turquoise butterfly appeared, leaving a shimmery trail of turquoise lights in its wake, and Iwaizumi let the familiar numbing feeling take over him as he ran.

* * *

Iwaizumi opened his eyes, surprised at the brightness that enveloped him and dug into his eyes. He blinked furiously several times to get his surroundings back into focus from their initial blur. He registered that he was running, that there was a bouncing weight on his back that had not been there before, and that the school wall that he had just walked past felt unusually high. Iwaizumi may have been just shy of one-eighty centimetres, but he swore that he could always see far more of the shrubbery growing merrily behind the wall than he could now.

"Iwa-chan, you're so slow today~!"

A loud, chipper voice that should not have been speaking at this volume at this time of day made Iwaizumi realise that he was not running alone, and that a young boy of similar height to him was running several metres in front of him, blue backpack bouncing merrily with every step he took.

The boy turned sharply right, maintaining his distance from Iwaizumi and disappearing from his sight for several seconds until Iwaizumi also made the turn. Iwaizumi watched as the boy, who probably had the most irresistible shade of chocolate-brown hair that Iwaizumi has ever seen, stumbled across the open gates of the school entrance first, raising his arms in victory and releasing a triumphant yell. As he turned around towards Iwaizumi to celebrate his victory, Iwaizumi was struck by the brown eyes meeting his green ones. Iwaizumi stopped running once he passed the school gates, feeling an unusual sense of contentment and relief replacing the panic that was threatening to consume him from within. His twenty-year-old self helpfully provided a name with the cheerful face that continued to celebrate in front of him. Oikawa Tooru. His neighbour and best friend from his childhood in Miyagi.

Iwaizumi looked down at his hands, registering their small size for the first time, the small still-healing scrapes that had not been there previously, and the darker, tanned skin tone that had originally faded over the years from lack of sun exposure. He looked towards the school building, and the long, flowing white banner in the middle which proudly read "Congratulations to the volleyball team for making the 2004 Nationals!". And then back towards Oikawa Tooru, who looked very much alive. Back towards the banner. 2004. A jubilant _moving_ Oikawa. His small, child-like hands, what was going on, _what was going on_ -

The floodgates that temporarily held back memories from the events that had just transpired shattered, and Iwaizumi's eyes widened in realisation.


	2. (2004) Reaction

Revival had taken him back _ten years_ in time, taken him back to when he was still attending elementary school.

That was the only conclusion that Iwaizumi could come up with that made any kind of sense, as he finally stopped looking between his hands, Oikawa, and the banner hanging from the school building. Had his reaction to Takeru's murder and the associated memories that came with it caused his Revival ability to completely mess up?

Instinctively, Iwaizumi observed his surroundings to better gauge when it was – at least he knew exactly where he was in terms of location. The air surrounding him had a frosty chill to it, and he was currently bundled up in multiple layers of clothing, the top layer being a puffy green down jacket. However, the trees surrounding the school gates were not completely devoid of leaves yet, and of course, Oikawa was still alive. That told Iwaizumi that it was before mid-December, likely either the end of November or start of December.

For the first time, Iwaizumi felt grateful for how his multiple Revival experiences had led him to become extremely level-minded when it came to adapting to sudden changes in environment. It was almost routine, but because it was routine it further served to help calm Iwaizumi down. Oikawa wasn't dead. Takeru wasn't dead. He could almost dismiss the distressing images in his brain as just a bad dream, because in this time, they had never happened.

"IWA-CHAN! Have you finally gotten deaf from listening to Godzilla roar too many times?!"

Oikawa was waving madly at Iwaizumi, voice at that stage where it was not quite yet a shout, but it was far above a suitable conversation volume. Taking note of the expectant expression on Oikawa's face, Iwaizumi registered it was probably not the first time that Oikawa had called out to him within the last minute. He had probably tried several times without any luck.

Iwaizumi opened his mouth to reply, only to suddenly wonder how he had previously interacted with Oikawa before. Oikawa was his best friend, but to Iwaizumi, it had been over ten years since they last interacted. He was a twenty-year-old in his ten-year old body. Another chilling thought crossed his mind. He was going to need to act as a convincing ten year old, wasn't he?

"Iwa-chan, we're late for class! Super late!" Oikawa's voice had gone up an octave into a near-whine. Despite his misgivings, Iwaizumi felt it was best to respond to Oikawa, otherwise he had a bad feeling that Oikawa would not only continue to escalate the whining, but it would start getting physical.

"Uh…sorry," Iwaizumi finally said, registering how _high_ his voice was compared to his deeper, twenty-year-old voice. That would take a bit of time to get used to.

"Sorry….?" Oikawa stopped moving, looking at Iwaizumi with a slightly confused expression. Iwaizumi too was confused by Oikawa's reaction – had he said something wrong? The confusion must have shown on Iwaizumi's face as Oikawa's face morphed into a bright smile, one that made Iwaizumi uncomfortable for some reason.

"Don't mind, don't mind, Iwa-chan! Let's go!" Oikawa moved towards Iwaizumi standing near the school gates and grabbed his arm, attempting to pull him towards the school building. The solid touch of Oikawa's hand on his arm banished the last remaining doubts in Iwaizumi's mind. Oikawa was warm, he was breathing, he was _real_.

"Iwa-" Oikawa was unable to finish his statement as Iwaizumi pulled him into a tight hug, ignoring the tickling on his face as Oikawa's hair rubbed roughly against it as he squirmed in Iwaizumi's grasp. Oikawa was warm, so warm, his scent was so reassuringly comforting, and Iwaizumi almost didn't want to let go of him ever again. In that one moment hugging Oikawa, Iwaizumi felt as if he found the perfect moment in his life. _I missed you so much._

"Iwa-chan, we are really late you know." Oikawa's voice was muffled where it remained buried in Iwaizumi's chest, and Iwaizumi hurriedly stepped back and let go of Oikawa, face flushed at what he had just done. Oikawa hadn't moved from where Iwaizumi had left him, a mix of amusement and puzzlement on his face. "Do you have a fever? You do tend to be really cuddly when you're sick." Oikawa stepped forward, hand outstretched, but Iwaizumi stepped back to avoid him.

"I'm fine," Iwaizumi barked out, instinctively having a feeling on how he would have reacted when he was younger. The moment Oikawa had turned his back to him, Iwaizumi quickly touched his forehead, reassuring himself that it felt pretty normal temperature wise. "Let's go." Iwaizumi pushed Oikawa forward whilst ignoring Oikawa's not-so-quietly whispered "Iwa-chan's definitely sick."

Iwaizumi let Oikawa lead him into the school building and up several flights of stairs, hiding the fact that he legitimately could not remember where their old classroom was. They finally stopped at the final door down the corridor that they were hurrying down, door still ajar, where the sound of several voices was audible.

"Sorry Saito-sensei!" Oikawa huffed as he ran through the doorway of the room, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Iwaizumi followed silently behind him, finding the slight pink blush on Oikawa's face and the more windswept appearance of his brown hair to be quite cute and endearing. _Cute and endearing…really Hajime?_ Iwaizumi tried to get those stray thoughts out of his mind as he fully surveyed the classroom, as they were definitely _not_ appropriate for the current situation at hand.

His eyes were drawn instantly to the date written in the top right hand corner of the blackboard, feeling an icy chill go down his spine in response – Monday 6th December. 4 days. He had last seen Oikawa at the front entrance of their school on Friday the 10th.

" _Shittykawa! Where the hell are you?" Branches slapped Hajime's face as he continued storming forward, head moving rapidly from side-to-side. "…Tooru, please." Hajime's arm flopped against his body, hand clutching his mobile tightly after sending another text message that Tooru wouldn't reply to._

He powered through his entire weekend frantically looking for Oikawa, searching through every single one of their adventure spots, hiding spots, until finally on the 12th he –

No, it was not a good idea to think about that. No, Oikawa was alive now. There was no point in thinking about something that hasn't happened. That _wouldn't_ happen. Iwaizumi knew exactly which day Oikawa disappeared. He could fix the future, just like he had for every previous Revival. But those thoughts did not stop images of a blankly staring Takeru, of an unseeing Oikawa coming up to the forefront of his mind.

"Iwaizumi-kun? Would you like to sit down today?" A synchronised chortle of laughter broke out within the room, as Iwaizumi noted the slight smile on his teacher's face. Iwaizumi quickly looked around the room, trying to spot the empty seat that was hopefully his. He quickly noted that unlike his classmates, Oikawa was not laughing but staring intently at Iwaizumi, the expression in his eyes nearly unreadable. Iwaizumi walked into the room with false confidence, noting that unfortunately for him, there were two empty desks, one next to the window, and the other near Oikawa.

Iwaizumi headed towards the desk next to Oikawa, logically reasoning that Oikawa had probably forced him to sit next to him at the start of the school year.

"Iwa-chan, are you lost?" Oikawa laughed as Iwaizumi approached the desk next to him, but the same uncomfortable feeling that he had felt earlier in the morning made itself known to Iwaizumi as he made eye contact with Oikawa. "Whilst I know you would love to sit next to me, what about poor Chihiro-chan?"

"Oikawa-kun," Saito scolded, giving Oikawa a meaningful look as the class laughed again. Iwaizumi felt the panic well up in him, realising his source of unease as several childhood memories became clearer. Oikawa was a master of faking it until it was believable, something that had always fooled his peers around him, but never Iwaizumi. He was a lot more aware and concerned about Iwaizumi's behaviour than he tried to let on. _Shit._

"Don't forget about me, Iwaizumi-kun!"

The girl sitting behind the other empty desk smiled widely and waved at Iwaizumi, causing the class to burst into another hysterical round of laughter. She had short, dark brown hair, which complimented the lighter shade of brown in her eyes. Iwaizumi was also sure her wide smile was definitely more genuine than what Oikawa had shown today, with no traces of hidden intentions. He also had no idea what her name was – actually, apart from Oikawa, he really couldn't recall the names of any of his classmates. Did that mean that he was not close to any of them, apart from Oikawa? It was something he would have to figure out later if he was going to relive his childhood days.

Iwaizumi could feel his face burning up as he moved robotically towards the other empty desk, roughly dumping his backpack there and doing his best to ignore his classmates. Within the chorus of laughter and whispers, he could pick up Oikawa's snickering specifically, reacting just like how the class would expect him to do so.

"Iwaizumi looked like he woke up on the wrong side of bed."

"Do you think Michimiya likes Iwaizumi? She _waved_ at him." Whilst Iwaizumi did not like the direction that conversation was going towards at all, at least it allowed him to learn that the girl sitting behind him was called Michimiya. "Ewwww no, I heard he plays with bugs. Oikawa told me about it once."

"Class, class, settle down please!" The laughter and whispers quickly died down as Saito raised his voice, standing in the middle of the room and holding the class roll in his arms. "Just a quick formality to see who's here. Akiyama!"

"Here!"

Iwaizumi quickly tuned out the noise around him, responding only to let out a quick "Here!" when Saito called out his name. There did not seem to be anything complicated behind what he had to do in this Revival despite having gone back ten years in time to do so. Oikawa had disappeared sometime after he left him behind at school on the 10th, so all he had to do was make sure Oikawa was not left behind this time right? The only difficulty Iwaizumi felt that he would encounter would be finding out why Oikawa had chosen to stay behind, when normally he would be more than enthusiastically bounding after Iwaizumi and invading his personal space.

Part way through the class, Iwaizumi also felt his focus drifting towards Oikawa. He soaked in the sight of Oikawa, sun from the window illuminating his chocolate-brown hair and giving it an orangey, glowing outline. Oikawa was quite focused on the class, eyes narrowed in concentration, tip of his tongue visible, hand writing furiously on his notebook. Iwaizumi could also picture the writing in Oikawa's notebook, recalling having stolen it multiple times to help him study – cramped, messy, but meticulous, always trying to capture every detail like each was the puzzle to unlocking a new secret. Iwaizumi quietly enjoyed the sight of this particular Oikawa, unable to resist a smile. This Oikawa was no memory.

The bell rang signalling recess, sharply snapping Iwaizumi from his doze. His classmates were quick to rise from their seats, rummaging for their snacks as the volume around Iwaizumi slowly increased. Oikawa on the other hand took his time, carefully placing his pencil on his desk before bending over to grab his backpack.

"Iwaizumi, you've been staring at Oikawa a _lot_ this morning, you know?" One of his classmates approached him as he walked past, giving him a wink. "Don't you already like live with the guy or something already?" His friend beside him laughed. Iwaizumi gave them a blank expression in response. It wasn't just Oikawa that could be annoying, Iwaizumi realised with irritation. Ten-year olds were just annoying in general. There had to have been a reason why he was so apprehensive to tutor students in the first place before he met Takeru.

Iwaizumi didn't have the energy to come up with a response as suddenly stood up from his seat, brushing past his laughing classmates as he moved, approaching Oikawa's desk where Oikawa was still busy with his backpack. Ten year olds. They laughed far too much at his expense.

"Oi, Oikawa could you be any slower?" To prove his point, Iwaizumi lightly threw up his apple up into the air and caught it repeatedly. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Michimiya staring intently at him, her face oddly serious compared to her earlier expression.

"So impatient, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa pouted, finally pulling out a blue lunchbox from his bag, which he carefully opened. "But I have something far better than that apple of yours." Oikawa triumphantly revealed a packet of milk bread, wrapped neatly in plastic, which Iwaizumi let out a snort at.

"You still eat that crap? It's a wonder you still have teeth left."

"I overheard your mum telling my mum the other day that you beg her every night to make you agedashi tofu for dinner."

"I do not!" In reality, Iwaizumi was furiously trying to remember whether he actually did do that, or whether Oikawa was messing with him. Unfortunately, it was likely that Oikawa was right given his passion for agedashi tofu was at least as strong as Oikawa's passion for milk bread, but Iwaizumi refused to give him that opportunity to tease him, attempting to give him a light punch in the arm instead. Oikawa dodged with a grin, finally getting up from his chair and motioning for Iwaizumi to follow him.

* * *

In the end, it had not been that difficult to integrate himself back into the routine of elementary school life. The main challenge had actually been feigning attention in class and not actually falling asleep, particularly during maths. However, Oikawa was an excellent distraction when he felt himself nodding off, with Iwaizumi content to just look and savour his existence. How he had complained about Oikawa to his mother so many times, how he actually took Oikawa's presence for granted. Iwaizumi was crystal clear on what he needed to do this Revival.

The final bell rang at three pm, signalling the end of the school day. The class was in a rush to pack up, eager to escape any further teachings of English for the day. As Iwaizumi walked past the teacher's desk, Saito raised his hand, motioning for Iwaizumi to approach. Oikawa stopped at the door, attempting to look disinterested but was clearly intending to listen in as he waited.

"Are you feeling alright today, Iwaizumi-kun? I noticed that you were having a lot of trouble staying awake in class, and you nearly forgot where you sat this morning!" Saito chuckled as a slight blush of embarrassment crossed Iwaizumi's face.

"I'm feeling alright, Saito-sensei. Maybe just didn't get enough sleep last night." Iwaizumi did his best to look lethargic. Physically he was feeling fine, but mentally he could definitely do with a long nap.

"That's fine, I understand, just look after yourself next time Iwaizumi-kun. See you tomorrow!" With one final smile, Saito waved farewell at Iwaizumi, signalling the end of the conversation. Iwaizumi nodded in acknowledgement, meeting up with Oikawa at the door, who was wearing an amused smile on his face.

"Ooh, Iwa-chan got into trouble~" Oikawa had clearly enjoyed listening in way too much. Iwaizumi did not bother with a voiced response, instead giving Oikawa a sharp tap on the head which he didn't manage to dodge.

"Iwa-chan! That was mean. My brain cells are delicate!"

"They're not much of a loss, considering you didn't have that many to start out with." That was a good one, Iwaizumi thought, deciding to keep that comeback stored again for future use.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa followed the crowd of students out of the school building and past the gates, turning into one of the busier roads in Sendai. Cars occasionally whizzed past as they walked down the footpath, bickering and throwing the occasional insult. They had been walking for several minutes before Oikawa suddenly stopped speaking mid-sentence, and a movement out of the corner of Iwaizumi's eye caught his attention.

From the other side of the road, a small white dog burst out of the bushes and onto the grey cement of the currently-empty road. Iwaizumi registered a larger shape moving towards the road beside him, and his heart felt as if it had stopped and sunk to the bottom of an ocean when he registered that it was in fact Oikawa running headlong onto the road.

"Papi-channnnnn!"

"Don't worry~"

"OIKAWA!"

A young girl with pigtails, no more than five years old and wearing a frilly pink dress, had her arms outstretched, running towards the road.

Oikawa, arms moving wildly as he sprinted across the road, reaching out for the dog wagging his tail slowly as he examined his surroundings.

Iwaizumi stood paralysed on the footpath for about two seconds before the situation in front of him fully registered, noting the sound of an oncoming car heading straight towards Oikawa and the dog he was trying to catch. He did not hesitate to move, thankful that there were no oncoming cars on his side of the road, and ran out towards Oikawa, cursing under his breath. "What the hell is with me and car accidents lately."

Iwaizumi slammed into Oikawa, grabbing him tightly in a bear hug and momentum forcing Oikawa to stumble forward, taking Iwaizumi down with him as they landed onto the footpath together. Oikawa clung tightly to the dog he had just caught, letting out a cry of pain when he landed. The oncoming car braked heavily, coming to a stop less than a metre away from where Oikawa had been standing several seconds ago.

"Are you alright?!"

Panting heavily, a woman ran towards the pair, a look of relief crossing her face as Iwaizumi and Oikawa simultaneously nodded back at her. She turned towards the shocked young girl, who had tears starting to well up in her eyes as she stared resolutely at the ground. "Sakura-chan, that car could've hit you if you ran onto the road!"

"I'm sorry, mum!"

The girl with pigtails burst into tears as the dog in Oikawa's arms slipped out of his loosened grasp, running towards her. Iwaizumi focused his attention back to Oikawa who was unusually quiet, unwrapping his arms from Oikawa's torso and repositioning him slightly so he could examine him. He instantly noted Oikawa's pants, badly torn at the right knee, with blood from the deep scrape starting to stain the fabric around it.

"Shit, we should get this washed," Iwaizumi muttered, more to himself than to Oikawa, as he pulled off his backpack, looking for the water bottle he knew was not completely empty. On finding it, he gave Oikawa no warning before pouring some of the contents onto Oikawa's knee. Oikawa let out a hiss in shock, but unexpectedly made no complaints or offered any resistance.

"Iwa-chan, I'll be fine."

Oikawa attempted to brush off Iwaizumi's concern as Iwaizumi deemed Oikawa's injured knee as mostly clean, moving on to check Oikawa for any other injuries. Iwaizumi did not miss the slight quivering of Oikawa's lips that suggested he was hiding how much pain he actually was in. Iwaizumi was at the stage where he was not sure he was relieved that Oikawa was mostly unhurt, or whether he was extremely angry and wanted to beat some sense into Oikawa's head, permanently.

"Fine? You idiot, you could've gotten yourself killed! Why on earth would you run out like that?"

It was something Iwaizumi yelled out more as a reprimand as opposed to a genuine question he wanted an answer for. He knew exactly why Oikawa had done what he did, but it did not stop him from panicking or worrying at all. What concerned Iwaizumi more was that he never remembered this incident happening before, and could not, no matter how hard he thought, remember what he had been doing this particular afternoon. All he could recall was Oikawa turning up to his house the next morning with bandages on his chin and both elbows, proudly exclaiming upon his entrance into the Iwaizumi household that it was a battle wound gained from helping a poor maiden in distress. Was this incident what led to those injuries the first time? What had Iwaizumi changed today that led to these differing events? Iwaizumi felt himself scowling again, irritated at how easy it was to forget things in general.

"Iwa-chan, are you my mum?" _Hajime, don't punch him_. "You've been really clingy today, don't think I didn't notice you staring at me in class today. I always knew that deep down you appreciate my charm." _Don't punch him._ Oikawa winked at Iwaizumi, giving him a dazzling grin and a peace sign with his right hand as Iwaizumi continued to check Oikawa over. Somehow, whilst most of Oikawa's skin was unbroken apart from his knee, there was also a large, yellowing bruise that ran horizontally across his upper thigh on both legs that definitely could not be explained off by playing volleyball.

"Shittykawa, your charm can't even attract bugs, let alone people." It was an insult said instinctively and absent-mindedly, as Iwaizumi continued to examine Oikawa roughly.

"So mean!"

Iwaizumi tuned out Oikawa's complaints as he helped Oikawa up, convinced that apart from the nasty scrape on his knee that he was mostly unhurt from this incident.

"Iwa-chan, can you bandage me up?"

"Oikawa, what happened there?" Iwaizumi pointed at Oikawa's upper thighs, Oikawa going silent for a few seconds before turning away from Iwaizumi towards the girl he saved, safely reunited with her dog and parents.

"Don't worry about it…. I hate to admit it, but I can be clumsy sometimes, Iwa-chan. I fell down the stairs." Oikawa gave Iwaizumi what felt to him was a nervous smile, as Iwaizumi intensified his glare.

"Oikawa." Oikawa quailed back at Iwaizumi's no-nonsense tone, raising his hands in defeat.

"Okay okay, sometimes I get hurt helping people alright? Just like that girl." Oikawa motioned towards the young girl, who had finally stopped crying and was staring at Oikawa and Iwaizumi with wide eyes.

"Hurt…helping people." Not only was that a unusual response from Oikawa, Iwaizumi also felt it was an odd way to phrase that particular statement. He wanted to push the issue further but was interrupted by the young girl approaching them nervously, her mother following closely behind.

"Sakura-chan, what should you say to these boys?"

"T-thank you," Sakura said shakily, holding Papi-chan tightly as she struggled to maintain eye contact.

"Good girl." Sakura's mum turned towards Iwaizumi and Oikawa, both standing still on the footpath. "And you two…"

Iwaizumi and Oikawa both stiffened, giving each other a knowing look. The instinct of ten year old boys to recognise an incoming reprimand from a mother was never wrong.

"It was very brave of you two to run after Papi," she began, crossing her arms. Oikawa and Iwaizumi looked at each other again, both feeling the impending moment of doom approaching. "However it was extremely irresponsible and dangerous of you two to run onto the road as well!" She then looked directly at Iwaizumi, who could not help but cringe internally. He was twenty years old, but he felt like a young child destined for an hour of solitude in the naughty corner. "As you were telling your friend, you both could've gotten yourselves killed. As important as Papi is, just think of your family if they heard you got hit by a car!"

Oikawa opened his mouth, looking as if he dearly wanted to interrupt, his eyes lighting up, but bit his lip instead, remaining silent.

" _You're lying! Tooru isn't-no he can't be-" The wild, shattered look on Oikawa Aimi's face as she screamed for her younger brother, restrained by the police officer who had broken the news to her, burned itself into Hajime's memory._

Iwaizumi also remained silent and stared at the ground beneath him, remembering first-hand how loss was received by different people. Recalling the feeling of loss, and openly seeing the reaction to loss only further served to fuel Iwaizumi's determination to change things this time.

Sakura's mother relaxed her posture, signalling the end of her lecture. "But thank you again." Her voice was now significantly softer. "I had a horrible feeling that Sakura may not have waited but run after Papi if you two boys didn't go after him first." She paused, making sure that Iwaizumi and Oikawa were aware of her appreciation. "I can drop you boys home if you don't live too far from here."

"Thank you!" Oikawa broke his silence and bowed in thanks, eyes motioning at Iwaizumi to do the same.

The drive to Oikawa's place, and by extension Iwaizumi's next door, was mostly quiet, silence only broken by polite questions about what school the boys went to, and the sounds of Sakura struggling to keep Papi still in the front seat. When they arrived at their destination a short while later, Sakura's mother got out of the car with the two boys, clearly intent on explaining the situation to their parents.

"Iwa-chan, I think we should hide," Oikawa bent over, whispering loudly into Iwaizumi's ear as they approached Oikawa's house.

"Oikawa…." Iwaizumi started, warning lacing his voice as Oikawa grabbed his wrist.

"Iwa-chan, let's gooooo~" Iwaizumi let himself get dragged out of sight by Oikawa as Oikawa's mother opened the front door, Sakura's mother introducing herself and explaining the situation.

Iwaizumi knew that there would likely to be hell faced tonight from both of their parents, but for now he was content to forget about responsibility and indulge his ten year old self with Oikawa's game of hide-and-seek.


	3. (2004) Routine

Iwaizumi glared at the mobile phone he was using, thumb pressing several buttons randomly. The screen size was too small, the display wasn't even in colour, and it really did not do much else but make and receive calls. Iwaizumi gave the mobile phone one last glare before giving up and shoving it roughly into his jacket pocket, scanning his surroundings for any sight of Oikawa. It had been a hope made in vain that his 2004 brick phone could provide a distraction from the monotony of waiting for Oikawa to arrive. It had been ten minutes at the very least, and Iwaizumi felt he was being generous with the timing.

"Iwa-chan, let's get to practice, let's go!" Oikawa practically flew out of the school building as he suddenly appeared, holding the blue gym bag that he had left behind in the classroom earlier and standing in front of Iwaizumi.

"Could you be any slower, Oikawa?" Iwaizumi said in irritation, moving his back from its uncomfortable position against the school building.

Oikawa airily waved away Iwaizumi's accusation, carefully keeping himself outside of Iwaizumi's punching range and running ahead towards the school gym. Iwaizumi followed, both boys panting when they finally reached the entrance to the gym, where the bounce of volleyballs against the wooden floor could already be heard.

"Oikawa, Iwaizumi, nice of you two to turn up." Their club coach, a short but heavily built man in his forties, stood at the entrance to the gym, looking calm but had his arms crossed as he watched the two approach. "Get changed, and start warming up!"

"Yes, Irihata-sensei!" Oikawa and Iwaizumi said in unison, moving quickly towards the change rooms.

Once changed, Oikawa and Iwaizumi joined the rest of the club in their warm up, moving around the gym with a gentle jog. Iwaizumi could not help but get lost in his surroundings, taking in the layout of the gym, the volleyball net strung up across the middle, balls resting in a trolley towards the back, as well as the general cheerful atmosphere that surrounded him.

"Ho ho ho, you're finally here!" Iwaizumi felt someone slap him on the back, hard, his stumble allowing his mystery attacker to catch up and run beside him. Iwaizumi looked to his right, taking in the boy with spiky white-grey hair, and round golden eyes that seemed to sparkle from the reflection of the gym lights. Unlike his earlier struggles to recall the names of his classmates, a name for the owl-like boy beside him easily floated to the forefront of his mind. Bokuto Kotarou. Iwaizumi felt a strong sense of familiarity associated with the name.

"Ko-chan, don't be so rough with my Iwa-chan!" Oikawa moved to Iwaizumi's left, effectively sandwiching him between the two excited boys as they continued running around the gym.

"Oiiiiiiikawa!" Iwaizumi tried to resist flinching as Bokuto yelled in greeting, far too close to his right ear. "You ready to be blown away by my powerful spikes?" Bokuto swung his right hand down in imitation of a spike, looking triumphant.

Oikawa gave Bokuto a grin that could only be described as shit-eating as he issued a challenge of his own, again yelling loudly enough that Iwaizumi also feared for his other ear. "You won't even have a ball to spike because my jump serve is going to make everyone back off in fear!"

"No jump serves, Oikawa," Iwaizumi interrupted suddenly, mentally cringing at some of Oikawa's more dramatic attempts at perfecting the serve.

"And to both of you, I will out-spike you idiots." Iwaizumi increased his pace, leaving Oikawa and Bokuto behind and ending his involvement in the conversation. However, Iwaizumi already felt far more comfortable and had stronger sense of belonging compared to back in the classroom.

He enjoyed the thrill of physical activity, both as a child and as an adult. He enjoyed the burning feeling in his muscles as he pushed them past their limits, the feeling of sweat dripping down his skin as a reward for his efforts. It was both refreshing and liberating, just the simple feeling of putting one foot in front of another and forcing himself forward. He could forget the heavier issues looming on his mind.

Irihata blew his whistle after several minutes, getting everyone's attention as they quickly jogged over towards him, forming a loose semi-circle formation.

"You have all been practicing very hard lately-"

"Especially me coach!" Bokuto grinned widely, letting out a jump in excitement.

"-not just you Bokuto, but everyone." Iwaizumi watched as Bokuto deflated slightly, Oikawa putting his arm around him in consolation.

"Considering that the holidays are coming up, today's practice will be a practice game against each other."

The gym erupted into a loud cheer, Bokuto being the loudest of all, as Irihata tried to get everyone's attention again with a few waves of his arms. Iwaizumi himself felt his heart rate pick up, finding himself excited at the prospect of playing volleyball with Oikawa again. He could barely remember the last time he had played volleyball, finding that his passion for the sport had evaporated without Oikawa's presence. Iwaizumi looked around, trying to recollect the names of all his classmates and possible strengths and weaknesses as Irihata continued explaining.

"As there are twelve of us today we will be doing a six-vs-six." Irihata paused, letting his words sink in as the class waited in anticipation for further instructions, tightly wound with excitement. "And today, I will let you all choose your team mates, so please choose carefully."

Whatever restraint the club had earlier snapped as the gym erupted into a cacophony of voices.

"I'm going with Iwa-chan!" Oikawa grabbed Iwaizumi's arm, hugging it tightly and shooting anyone who came near Iwaizumi a possessive look. Iwaizumi himself did not protest, his competitive instinct knowing that working together with Oikawa, after so many hours of practice, gave them the best chance of winning the game together. He gave Oikawa a nod of confirmation.

"I want to be the captain of the other team then!" Bokuto added, waving his arm madly for attention.

Irihata sighed, looking resigned but putting up no protest. "Bokuto and Oikawa will act as today's captains. I will let you all choose teams, but I will split you up myself if I hear any complaints, understood?"

"Yes coach!" the club said simultaneously, splitting themselves into the available two groups. Iwaizumi examined his fellow teammates as they approached Oikawa's side of the court, silently admiring their willingness to play with Oikawa. Oikawa greeted each person that approached him with a high-five, a smile, and a way-too-casual nickname that irritated Iwaizumi to no end.

"Minami-chan, you've always had great taste in teammates." Minami nodded silently in agreement, offering no protest.

"Yoshida-chan, you look super confident today!" Yoshida returned Oikawa's grin, puffing out his chest.

"Excited to have you on board, Honda-chan!" Honda seemed to be the only person with slight misgivings, wincing slightly at the sharp sound made when his hand made contact with Oikawa's.

"Ah, Nakamin, you look in great shape for some blocking today ~" The mentioned 'Nakamin' was taller than Iwaizumi by several centimetres, and was indeed the tallest player on the field today. Iwaizumi also recognised him as sitting diagonally in front of Oikawa in their class.

"Nakamura," he automatically corrected. Iwaizumi felt himself nod slightly in appreciation of his efforts in still correcting Oikawa. "And yes, why wouldn't I be?" Nakamura looked across the court, focusing on Bokuto. "It's funny watching Bokuto get all mopey when I block him, haha."

 _Oh great, he's a bastard at heart too_. Iwaizumi sure knew how to hang out with the best, an opinion that rapidly solidified as Oikawa started his team prep talk. However, Oikawa was more than happy to hear everyone's opinion on which position they wanted to play in the match. Iwaizumi automatically declared himself a wing spiker, with Nakamura electing to play as a middle blocker alongside Minami, Oikawa as a setter, and Yoshida and Honda also playing as spikers, as neither of them wanted to play in a libero role.

Irihata blew his whistle after several minutes of discussion to get everyone's attention. "Are both teams ready to play?"

A loud, enthusiastic chorus of 'yeses' echoed throughout the gym, as both teams ran to their respective side of their courts to line up. Iwaizumi was only able to instantly recognise Bokuto, however the taller pink-brown haired boy and thick eye browed boy lined up beside him also caught Iwaizumi's eye. He was fairly certain that he would have been able to recall their names seconds had Oikawa not pushed him towards the front of the net and cut off his train of thought.

"Iwa-chan, get ready, game starting!" Oikawa's eyes were bright and focused, his trademark smile narrowed into a tight grin as he stared down in challenge towards Bokuto.

"Shake hands, captains!" Iwaizumi resisted the urge to sigh as Bokuto and Oikawa approached each other to shake hands, both looking far too serious. He could hear a light murmur from their direction signalling that the two captains were having a discussion, and Iwaizumi did not need to hear it in detail to guess what was being said.

"You have a horrible personality, Shittykawa," Iwaizumi growled at Oikawa as he returned. Oikawa smiled in response, giving off a dangerous air.

"Me? I was just making sure Ko-chan knew _exactly_ where he stands in this game," Oikawa said sweetly, eyes burning in anticipation. "We're going to crush him together." Oikawa raised his closed fist, with Iwaizumi's fist also meeting his in response.

"You can crush them without being mean." However, Iwaizumi could not deny the adrenaline running through his veins, as Oikawa nodded at him one last time before heading to the back line to serve, bouncing the ball in preparation.

Iwaizumi stared ahead, meeting the eyes of the pink-brown haired boy playing as a spiker on Bokuto's team. Iwaizumi returned the challenge in the boy's eyes with the most intimidating look he could come up with, the look that Oikawa complained always made Iwaizumi 'look like a brute'.

Iwaizumi resisted the urge to look back at Oikawa, feeling that he was taking an unusually long amount of time to serve. Then he heard Oikawa's feet squeaking against the floor of the gym, and suddenly he felt an extra few beads of sweat run down his face at a sudden feeling of déjà vu. Oikawa wasn't going to do a jump serve, not after Iwaizumi warned him not to, please don't-

A light whooshing sound and a blast of cold air was the only warning Iwaizumi got before he felt something slam into the back of his head, hard. The bounce of the ball on the ground was emphasised by the total silence in the gym as everyone absorbed what had just happened.

Laughter erupted from the other side of the net, particularly from Bokuto and the pink-brown haired boy. Behind him, Oikawa was silent, but Iwaizumi was certain that any second now he was going to start apologising. Iwaizumi bent down and picked up the volleyball that had rolled behind him, thinking about where to aim it as he turned around. Oikawa stood frozen, eyes glued to the ball in Iwaizumi's hands. Irihata was blowing his whistle in an attempt to get everyone's attention, however it was mostly lost in the din of noise echoing around the gym.

" _Iwa-chan, I am so sorry, please don't throw that ball at me-ARRRGH!" Oikawa managed to cover his face with his arms to prevent a direct hit to the face from Iwaizumi's volleyball._

"Iwa-chan, I am so sorry, please don't throw that ball at me-ARRRGH!" Iwaizumi released the volleyball from his hands, watching it fly true towards its intended target, Oikawa, who unfortunately managed to cover his face with his arms to prevent a direct hit to the face.

"Iwa-chan, I'm sorrrrry!" And sorry Oikawa genuinely looked.

 _And Irihata's whistle will finally be heard by everyone_ , Iwaizumi thought absent-mindedly, before Irihata's shrill blowing of the whistle finally calmed everyone down. It was at this point that Iwaizumi realised where the source of his initial déjà vu came from – he had obviously played this particular game of volleyball before and had been hit in the back of the head by Oikawa before. And that also meant that he knew who won the match, didn't he?

Iwaizumi was torn between his pride as to whether he should leave things as is and not worry about the original outcome, or remember the original game and change things up a bit.

"Oikawa, please send the ball over to Matsukawa so he can serve. 1-0, Bokuto's team!"

As Iwaizumi felt a few more glances of pity aimed towards him, he decided to forget his pride for a bit. Revival had always been used to save others, so what was wrong with using it once to help himself? And Iwaizumi had always been as competitive, possibly even more so than Oikawa, and he absolutely hated losing. No, this time he would make sure that Oikawa's team won.

"Oikawa," Iwaizumi said calmly, gears turning in his mind as remembered their key weaknesses from the first time they played this match. "We will definitely win this one."

It was still a tight match even with Iwaizumi's knowledge, with Bokuto's spikes being as deadly as promised, and Oikawa's jump serves missing as often as they landed. Despite this, Iwaizumi felt significantly lighter at being able to change the results of the match. If he could change the outcome of this match, he would be able to change other events in the future too.

Even Irihata's post-match discussion had changed from what Iwaizumi had recalled, and he really could not help the smile that remained on his face even as he headed towards the change rooms with everyone else.

"Mannn, I'm starving after that game!" Nakamura groaned, petting his stomach for emphasis as Iwaizumi and Oikawa followed him out of the change room, fully changed. "You up for the usual, Oikawa-kun, Iwaizumi-kun?"

Iwaizumi barely had a second to think about what _the usual_ could possibly be, before a smile so bright it was nearly blinding appeared on Oikawa's face. There were not many things that could elicit that kind of genuine, unfiltered reaction from Oikawa, and considering Nakamura's hunger there could only be one place. The eternal hunger saviour of all surrounding sports teams within the vicinity, the infamous Miyamoto Bakery, with its complete lack of respect towards health and instead a very strong respect towards sugar. It was not Iwaizumi's favourite place, but it was Oikawa's.

"Nakamin, did you even need to ask? Miya-san does the most _divine_ milk bread, ever," Oikawa said dramatically, letting out a fake gasp in shock. "I deserve his special milk bread for this effort, don't I, Iwa-chan?"

"You deserve a few more volleyballs to the head," Iwaizumi shot back, absently rubbing the back of his head where Oikawa's ball had hit it earlier, as the trio continued heading towards the exit of the school gates. That was definitely a growing bump that wouldn't disappear for _days_.

"I'll buy you milk bread if you forgive me, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa pleaded, giving Iwaizumi his most wide-eyed, innocent expression. Iwaizumi struggled to keep his expression annoyed as he made eye contact, knowing what Oikawa was playing at but still unable to resist his charms. His Oikawa-resistance had probably crumbled over the years.

"Agedashi tofu," Iwaizumi corrected, attempting to milk whatever he could from the situation. "For the rest of the week from the store next door to the bakery."

"Falling for the moe eyes again, eh?" a snicker from behind Iwaizumi alerted the trio that they were not in fact alone in their journey towards the famed bakery.

"Oikawa is pretty much the pet in this relationship…although I'm not sure who the master is," another voice drawled, somehow managing to sound bored but excited at the same time. Oikawa, Nakamura, and Iwaizumi turned around to be met with the pink-brown haired and thick eye browed pair who were playing on Bokuto's team.

There was definitely a vein throbbing in Iwaizumi's forehead, he could just feel it. Digging through his memories for an annoying duo in their volleyball club, he quickly recalled two names – Hanamaki and Matsukawa. The speed at which Iwaizumi recalled their names was slightly terrifying, as it probably meant that the pair had left a significant impression on him. Probably not a good one either.

"Excuse me?!" Oikawa shrieked, torn between horror and disbelief. For once, Iwaizumi shared his feelings, feeling a very strong need to throw something at the smirking pair. "I am _not_ a pet!"

"They say acceptance is the first step to recovery."

"They need to understand what's going on first before they can accept the truth." Hanamaki nodded in agreement, attempting to look wise but the smirk on his face betraying him.

"Heeeeeey don't leave without meeee!" Bokuto yelled wildly as he caught up to the group, his bag unzipped from his haste in running. "You're heading to Miya-san's right?"

Nakamura seized the opportunity to stop Hanamaki and Matsukawa in their tracks, nodding at Bokuto. "We're heading there right now before he closes up."

"YESSSS! Let's hurry then!" Bokuto wasted no more time on discussions, running ahead and leading the others towards the bakery nearby. The bakery was located on a street just off the main road, near the local shopping centre and surrounded by other small businesses including one of Iwaizumi's favourite agedashi tofu hot spots.

"Cream puffs come to meeeee!" Hanamaki raced through the entrance of the bakery first, wallet clutched tightly in his hand. Oikawa followed closely behind, not caring who he shoved as he entered. Iwaizumi entered last, hoping that Oikawa would in fact leave some money left over to shout him tofu from next door, but deeming it unlikely after seeing the bundle of milk bread he was now carrying to a nearby table.

"Iwaizumi-kun, always the responsible one of the group!" Iwaizumi was met with the familiar wide smile of a muscular man wearing a red apron, constantly moving between the cash register and the items for sale behind the counter. Iwaizumi recognised him instantly as the owner and baker of the store, Miyamoto Norio, affectionately known to the entire volleyball club as Miya-san. "What would you like to get today?"

Iwaizumi stepped up towards the glass counter, examining the various cakes, cupcakes and breads available. A small, round bun sprinkled with black sesame caught his eye – it didn't look too sweet, but was light enough that he could go for another round of food once everyone was done at the bakery.

"The red bean bun!" Iwaizumi couldn't help the enthusiasm in his tone, especially as he really was starting to feel hungry.

"Ah, so the usual then?" Miyamoto grabbed a pair of tongs, placing the red bean bun into a bag and handing it over to Iwaizumi. "That will be 200 yen."

After dumping the majority of his spare change, Iwaizumi joined Oikawa and the others at their table, Oikawa having already devoured one milk bread in Iwaizumi's absence. Oikawa took one look at Iwaizumi's bag and let out a snort between chews.

"You're so-" Oikawa took a second to properly swallow his current mouthful of milk bread before continuing. "-boring, Iwa-chan! Red bean again? Milk bread is where it's at, milk bread!"

Oikawa waved his final bag of milk bread in Iwaizumi's face as Iwaizumi scowled, watching Oikawa devour his second milk bread with his other hand. Behind him, Miyomoto chuckled, coming out from behind the counter to clean up their mess. Hanamaki was attempting to shove as many cream puffs into his mouth before Matsukawa could steal it, and Nakamura was alternating between watching the pair and staring down at his unfinished custard tart.

"I wish my stepson was as enthusiastic about my food as you boys are," Miyamoto said fondly, collecting the discarded plastic bags and crumbs into an empty rubbish bag. "He's definitely got the same energy for volleyball as you boys, but just stares blankly at my food. Every time."

"That's a real shame!" Bokuto said, sitting back contentedly after finishing his slice of cake. "He's missing out on the best. Isn't that right, Oikawaaa?"

Oikawa could only nod in agreement, mouth stuffed. Hanamaki behind him gave Miyamoto a thumbs up, other hand attempting to keep his final cream puffs away from Matsukawa's reach.

Miyamoto laughed, heading back behind the counter. "Don't leave too late though, it's getting cold outside." Miyomoto nodded at Iwaizumi, a nod that probably signalled 'make sure those boys don't do anything stupid on their way home'.

"Oi, Oikawa, after you're done eating you're getting me that tofu, or else you'll be finding bugs in your things for the next week."

"Don't get too cranky, Iwa-chan, you're going to get more wrinkles than my mum!" Oikawa said airily, finishing off his last milk bread and standing from his seat to get veryone's attention. "I'm going to have to follow Iwa-chan out, I think he's being serious with his threats this time." Oikawa faked a sad face as the others laughed, waving farewell enthusiastically.

"Cya Oikawa, Iwaizumi!"

"Iwaizumi, don't grow any older than you already are!" Iwaizumi turned around to give one final glare at Matsukawa, who smirked back at Iwaizumi, before heading next door to get tofu with Oikawa by his side.

* * *

 _What have I been doing?_ Iwaizumi tuned out Saito's voice, deep in his thoughts. On Monday, all Iwaizumi assumed he needed to do was to not leave Oikawa behind at school on Friday. On Tuesday, he had not even given the situation a second thought, instead using his memories of the past to change the outcome of a volleyball game and feeling euphoric from his success. But now, Iwaizumi was starting to feel that time was running out, and the true reality of what needed to be done to change the future. Oikawa's life was incomparable to winning a friendly game of volleyball.

Iwaizumi scribbled his name messily on the sheet of paper that was placed on his desk, noting without interest that it was a general knowledge quiz. It was only after Michimiya poked him from behind and Iwaizumi noted the lack of paper on her desk that he realised it was a quiz done in pairs.

"Iwaizumi-kun, looks like you're working with me today! Do you want to write, or do you want me to?" Michimiya looked at Iwaizumi with a bright, hopeful expression, playing with her mechanical pencil.

"Go ahead," Iwaizumi said, moving the paper over to Michimiya's desk as she smiled. One thing Iwaizumi had been finding annoying in class was the sudden need to write kanji that he had known for years in hiragana because he technically was not supposed to know it yet. It was nearly a relief to give the scribing duty to Michimiya, who would not need to compartmentalise her knowledge between what she learnt in high school, and what elementary schoolers knew.

"First question," Michimiya chirped, looking straight into Iwaizumi's eyes. "Who is the current prime minister of Japan?"

"Wow, this is pretty general knowledge," Iwaizumi commented, racking his head for the answer. "Abe Shinzo."

"Abe?" Michimiya said, looking confused. "Isn't it Koizumi? Not sure on his full name though?"

"Ah, yes, sorry, Koizumi Jun-something right? I honestly can't remember," Iwaizumi hurriedly corrected, his heart rate picking up at the realisation of the mistake that he had just made. "Sorry, I didn't sleep well last night."

"No worries, Iwaizumi-kun!" Michimiya said with another smile, writing down a partial answer on the quiz sheet. "We'll move to question two!"

Whilst Iwaizumi was outwardly hoping that he was looking calm and that Michimiya fell for his lie, internally he was beating himself up over that slip-up. Abe _was_ the current prime minister – in 2014. Just another mistake he was making this week. Iwaizumi half-heartedly helped Michimiya to complete the quiz, eager to get out of the classroom and clear his mind. Volleyball practice after school today, Iwaizumi knew from memory with a slight sense of comfort, would just be standard drills and repetition.

* * *

Iwaizumi's thoughts during class on Thursday were starting to get increasingly panicked as he doodled, then crossed out, multiple plans of action for Friday in his notebook. By the time the final bell rang signalling the start of volleyball practice, the pages of his notebook were covered in pencilled scribbles that had been repeatedly crossed out.

"Iwa-chan, are you alright?" Oikawa asked, the concern on his face genuine as they both headed towards the gym to get changed. "You look crankier than normal, and that's weird, even for you."

Of course Oikawa would notice. "I haven't been sleeping that well, but I'm fine," Iwaizumi said, repeating the same lie he had used earlier. Oikawa looked unconvinced, but dropped the question, for which Iwaizumi was thankful for.

Volleyball, Iwaizumi would also discover, was one of the worst places to get lost in a swamp of unrelated thoughts. After being hit by several volleyballs, missing way too many spikes, and then dramatically landing on his bottom after slipping, Iwaizumi was unable to convince anyone in the gym that he was feeling fine. Irihata made him sit out the rest of the practice, attempting to figure out what was wrong, but again Iwaizumi brushed it off as lack of sleep.

Oikawa ran straight towards him once practice finished, the worry clearly showing in his eyes. _I should be the one worrying about you_ , Iwaizumi thought, not registering what Oikawa was saying.

"Iwa-chan! _Hajime_!" Oikawa rarely, if ever, used Iwaizumi's given name in a public environment, and that was enough to make Iwaizumi realise again that he was tuning out again.

"Sorry, Oikawa," Iwaizumi said, picking up his bag. Oikawa looked at him anxiously as they started heading towards the change rooms, only looking away when his phone buzzed.

"Nee-chan is going to pick me up," Oikawa announced to Iwaizumi, looking up and snapping his flip phone shut once he had finished reading the message he had received. "She reckons it'll snow tonight, and maybe tomorrow too. Do you want her to drive you back too?"

Iwaizumi was about to decline, not in the mood to interact with two Oikawas at once, before a sudden memory resurfaced.

" _Nee-chan promised to pick me up and show me something special today! You worry too much, Iwa-chan, just go."_

Oikawa's sister. Iwaizumi felt a burst of extra energy at the realisation that she was probably the key to saving Oikawa tomorrow. All he needed to figure out was what she was planning with Oikawa tomorrow, and either find a way to get involved and stay near Oikawa, or convince her to reorganise. The former option was definitely the most plausible in Iwaizumi's opinion.

"Yeah, I'll come with you. Can I also stay over for a bit?" Iwaizumi vaguely recalled accepting Oikawa's lift the first time too, however had headed straight back home that time. This time, he was going to actively change what he did.

"Of course, Iwa-chan! You're always welcome."

Iwaizumi huddled with Oikawa in the warm confines of the gym, waiting for Oikawa's sister.

Oikawa Aimi entered the gym with a flourish, her long chocolate-brown hair identical in colour to her brother's, but her smile felt warmer. Iwaizumi's eyes were drawn straight to her massive stomach, which highlighted how far into her pregnancy Aimi was. The baby that Iwaizumi knew was Takeru.

"Hajime-kun, it's great to see you again!" Aimi said in greeting, motioning for the boys to follow her. It had been a long time since Iwaizumi had last seen Aimi, he realised, also feeling glad to see her.

"Oikawa-san, thanks for driving me back," Iwaizumi replied, feeling Oikawa huddle closer to him as they stepped outside, the full force of the chilly air hitting them.

"I wish my Tooru-chan was this polite," Aimi joked, looking at Oikawa who pulled his tongue back at her.

"I am polite," Oikawa said sweetly. "Iwa-chan is the true brute here, you just haven't seen his true colours." Oikawa gave Iwaizumi a victorious look that dared him to make contact. Iwaizumi realised that Oikawa had him exactly where he wanted him, as Iwaizumi itched to punch Oikawa for the comment, but could not.

"Yes, yes, Tooru-chan," Aimi grinned. "Buckle up boys, safety first!"

The drive was quick, Iwaizumi alternating between staring out the window and staring at Oikawa, who was fidgeting in his seat. Asking Aimi about Friday would have to wait until he managed to get her alone. However, the opportunity presented itself earlier than Iwaizumi expected, and with no effort on his part.

"I'm home!" Oikawa yelled as he crossed the threshold of his house, carelessly throwing his school bag on the floor and hastily pulling off his shoes. "Toilet," Oikawa elaborated just as Aimi opened her mouth to ask, sprinting up the stairs to the nearest bathroom.

"Tooru," Aimi said affectionately, inviting Iwaizumi towards the kitchen after he slipped on a pair of slippers. "Is there anything you want to drink?"

"Do you have some black tea?" Aimi laughed at that, moving towards the cupboards.

"Strong as usual, I'm guessing?" Iwaizumi nodded, slightly embarrassed and feeling a flush burn onto his cheeks. Aimi was about twenty years old, and well, Iwaizumi was also technically twenty years old in terms of life experiences. Iwaizumi shook his head roughly, not wanting to think down that path.

Aimi started humming as she prepared the tea, turning on the kettle and getting a tea bag ready in a mug for both Iwaizumi and herself. Once the water was ready and boiling, Aimi poured the steaming water into both mugs, then handed one over to Iwaizumi.

"Are you going out with Oikawa after school tomorrow?" Iwaizumi asked Aimi as she took her first sip of tea.

Aimi laughed, giving Iwaizumi a smile and resting her mug on the table behind her. "Tooru unable to hold in his excitement, huh?" She looked fondly down at her stomach, gently going over it with her hands. She looked at Iwaizumi with a conspiratorial look, and checking that Oikawa was still absent, motioned for Iwaizumi to come closer. Iwaizumi also put his cup down, doing his best to keep his face neutral as he approached her. Even at university, Iwaizumi did not get into this kind of proximity with females. At all.

"I have a check-up for the baby tomorrow," Aimi said in a soft whisper, looking down at her stomach again. "Just to make sure everything is going alright. Tooru is extremely excited to be an uncle, and I thought I'd let him come with me and indulge in his newfound role."

"Oooh!" Iwaizumi couldn't help the cry of excitement that came out of his mouth. "Do you know if it's a boy or girl?" Aimi motioned for him to stay quiet as she leaned forward.

"He's a boy, not sure what to call him yet though." The sudden sound of footsteps alerted them both of Oikawa's reappearance, and Aimi leaned forward further, mouth nearly touching Iwaizumi's ear. "Would you like to come along tomorrow too? You'll probably be as much his uncle as Oikawa."

"Yes please, Oikawa-san!" Iwaizumi exclaimed loudly, Aimi moving away from him, and drawing Oikawa's attention as he ran towards his sister.

"Nee-chan, you weren't telling Iwa-chan anything embarrassing were you?" Iwaizumi really found it adorable when Oikawa pouted like that.

"Don't you worry, Tooru-chan," Aimi grinned. "Your dear Iwa-chan will be coming along to the special surprise your wonderful Nee-chan organised for you!"

"Really?" Oikawa looked as if Christmas had come early. Aimi nodded in response, giving Iwaizumi a sneaky wink as Oikawa hugged her. Iwaizumi understood the message behind the wink all too well. _Keep it secret_. Iwaizumi would, as Aimi had given him the perfect reason to hover around Oikawa all day on Friday, and change the future. Seeing Aimi again had reminded Iwaizumi that it was more than just Oikawa's future on the line.

* * *

Iwaizumi lay on his back, staring up blankly at the ceiling. The digital clock beside him read 12:30am, and despite having been in bed for hours he was unable to sleep. His mind was awake, far too awake despite him feeling exhausted, running through everything that he needed to do later that day.

"Oikawa," Iwaizumi whispered into the darkness, right arm reaching towards the ceiling. "I won't let anything happen to you this time."

The date on the display beside him read Friday, 10th December.

 **This is definitely a slow build but I promise it'll be important later! (my original plan completely went out the window with introducing everyone, as they all ended up with a life of their own). At least exams are over now, more time to write yay :D**


	4. (2004) Friday

Iwaizumi was already awake when his alarm went off early Friday morning, his hand hitting the bedside table several times before he successfully silenced his alarm. Groaning, Iwaizumi nearly fell out of the bed, his body disoriented by his total inability to sleep. Iwaizumi had run through the plan a hundred times in his mind throughout the night. It was a simple plan really, and Iwaizumi did not know why he was so worried seeing as he had already made all of today's necessary arrangements with Aimi. Today would be fine. Wait with Oikawa after school today. Get picked up by Aimi. Go to the doctor's appointment. That was all to it. However, there was a lingering sense of unease lurking that Iwaizumi was unable to get rid of, no matter how many times he reassured himself.

Iwaizumi slapped his face with both hands, trying to snap himself out of his current mindset as he slowly started getting dressed. He knew exactly why he was simultaneously excited, nervous, and fearful. Iwaizumi's previous Revivals had never been personal before, and as a result, the stakes for this particular Revival felt more real and terrifying than ever. It was not a nameless person he was trying to save this time.

"Hajime, you're going to be late for school!" his mum yelled, her voice muffled by the distance and the bedroom door between them. Iwaizumi hurriedly shoved the last sock onto his foot, grabbing his school bag and running downstairs. His mood was not improved by the sight of Oikawa waiting impatiently downstairs, chewing on some milk bread whilst wondering around the house. He was wearing the ill-fitting alien-patterned beanie that had been the last thing that Iwaizumi had seen Oikawa wear.

The day passed by in a similar fashion. Iwaizumi felt his exhaustion catch up to him during class, finding himself nodding off several times before looking at Oikawa and being reminded of his plan to be executed later in the afternoon. This would cause his heart rate to pick up due to his anxiety, making Iwaizumi feel temporarily awake before slowing sliding back into slumber again and repeating the cycle.

The final volleyball session for the week was a relief, as concentrating on volleyball helped to take Iwaizumi's mind off things, and it was the first time all day that he managed to fully relax. This calmness remained after the courts were cleaned up and everyone got changed into their warmest winter gear.

"Heeeey, Iwaizumi, Oikawa, you wanna drop by Miya-san's again?" Bokuto asked with excitement as they headed outside, everyone wincing at the sudden onset of cold air when they stepped out.

"I have something planned with Nee-chan," Oikawa declared proudly, poking his tongue out at Bokuto. "And Iwa-chan is coming too." Oikawa dragged Iwaizumi towards him to prove his point, with Iwaizumi giving Oikawa a rough chop to the head in response.

"Iwa, you look as pleased as usual," Bokuto laughed, understanding the situation and giving the duo a wave in farewell. Spotting Matsukawa nearby, Bokuto practically flew towards him, no doubt asking him the same question he had asked earlier about visiting the bakery.

"Iwa-chan, does Nee-chan's surprise have any food involved? I'm hungry," Oikawa complained, the two of them stopping their walk and waiting by the school gates for Aimi to arrive. Iwaizumi ignored him, attention diverted by the all-too familiar surroundings around him. He could still remember how the tree branches swayed lightly in the wind, how Oikawa had repeatedly tried pulling his beanie down and failing each time as it slid back up.

"Please, Iwa-chan, just one hint!" Oikawa was practically wailing at this point, and Iwaizumi let a small smile cross his face as he pretended to consider Oikawa's response.

"I will give you a hint," Iwaizumi began, watching as Oikawa grew quiet in anticipation and drawing out the silence. "If you give up milk bread for the rest of the week."

"You're so mean, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa punched Iwaizumi in the arm, but whether Oikawa's punch was simply too weak or the impact had been lightened by the layers that Iwaizumi wore he was not too sure. Iwaizumi gave Oikawa an amused look.

"That's not even a punch, Shittykawa." Oikawa glared at Iwaizumi before punching him again in the arm, this time silently, as if to prove that he could indeed punch hard enough to elicit a reaction from Iwaizumi.

"That doesn't feel any harder. In fact, I think your punches are getting weaker." Iwaizumi flexed his free arm to prove his point, as Oikawa raised his arms in defeat.

"Nee-chan's late," Oikawa said sullenly, changing the topic and using his phone briefly to check the time.

Iwaizumi let out a snort of amusement. "Just be patient, Oikawa, she's probably only one or two minutes late."

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault, I was running late, I left him alone!" Hajime had never been scared of Aimi before, but seeing her completely unkempt made him want to hide behind his mum and not come out.

Iwaizumi felt his amusement fade, a sudden realisation hitting him. Aimi running late may have been the catalyst for Oikawa disappearing – possibly bored, Oikawa may have wondered off and faced the encounter that would end his life. Suddenly nervous again, Iwaizumi quickly scanned his surroundings, not noticing anything unusual but suddenly on edge. He felt exposed and unsafe right now, and an urgent need to shelter Oikawa.

"Oikawa," Iwaizumi said roughly, hiding the unease in his voice. "I left my pencil case in the classroom. Inside of whining for the rest of the afternoon, come grab it with me."

"You-what?" Oikawa said, suddenly distracted.

"I left my pencil case in class," Iwaizumi repeated, hoping that Oikawa had in fact not seen him shove the very same pencil case into his bag earlier that day.

"Ahahahaha, oh Iwa-chan, do I need to pack your things for you?" Oikawa laughed, giving Iwaizumi a teasing expression but moving to follow Iwaizumi as he headed towards the school building. On any other day Iwaizumi would have probably given him a punch for that response, but grateful that Oikawa was indeed following him inside the school building, he refrained.

They climbed up the stairs in their school, Oikawa throwing additional barbs at Iwaizumi along the way. Iwaizumi retaliated with several punches, most of which Oikawa dodged whilst waving a peace sign with his fingers. This familiar routine, as well as the enclosed and relative safety of the school helped to soften Iwaizumi's unease. A loud, familiar Star Wars ringtone suddenly interrupted the pair.

"Ah, Nee-chan! Hello?" Oikawa picked up his phone, Iwaizumi letting out a slight wince at the ringtone. "Yes, we'll come down now! Iwa-chan was just being a dummy and left something behind!"

Oikawa hung up, stopping his movement up the stairs and leaning against the railing of the staircase. "Iwa-chan, I'll wait here for you, hurry and grab your pencil case. Nee-chan is waiting outside!" Oikawa said, pointing vaguely at the direction where the school gates were located.

"Ok, ok, don't you dare move, Oikawa," Iwaizumi threatened, climbing up the rest of the staircase to their classroom floor so Oikawa would not get suspicious at the speed at which he returned. Once he was satisfied with the timing, Iwaizumi ran back down the stairs, making a show of zipping his bag in front of Oikawa.

"I got it," Iwaizumi confirmed, noting Oikawa's expectant look as he prepared to move. Iwaizumi was forced to go down two stairs at a time to keep up with Oikawa, who practically sprinted to the school gates. Oikawa had always been the type to love being in the know for a surprise, and not knowing what to anticipate was clearly eating him out from the inside. It was a sight that Iwaizumi found both hilarious and cute, were it not for the fact that he was now madly trying to chase Oikawa.

"Nee-chan!" Oikawa yelled once he spotted Aimi waiting at the entrance, running straight towards her. "Where are we going, where are we going?"

"Ah, be careful Tooru," Aimi said, moving out of the way before Oikawa ran into her. "You shouldn't heave Hajime-kun behind you know." Aimi pulled off Oikawa's beanie, ruffling his hair affectionately as Oikawa pouted in response.

"Oikawa-san," Iwaizumi greeted politely as he reached the pair, Oikawa still struggling in his sister's arms as she teased him.

"You ready to go?" Aimi asked him, giving him another wink. "See Tooru, it's not that hard to wait."

"Both of you, you're always so mean to me," Oikawa complained as he got into the car, looking sulky as he buckled himself in.

"Tooru-chan," Aimi said with a grin, using the honorific she knew annoyed Oikawa. "That's just how we show you that we love you."

"Then Iwa-chan must hate me because he hits me all the time." Aimi chuckled as she got the engine started, car moving and merging onto the main road. Oikawa threw Iwaizumi a petulant expression, clearly trying to make Iwaizumi feel guilty.

"That probably means your Iwa-chan loves you a lot, because I think he has a lot to deal with." Aimi was completely straight-faced as she said that, Iwaizumi thoroughly enjoying her teasing and trying not to show it. "Hajime-kun, do you hate Tooru-chan?"

"Don't get me started," Iwaizumi said, emphasising a sigh and staring out the window. He could see their destination nearby, as well as the cheeky expression that Aimi suddenly gave him from the front mirror. Iwaizumi hoped that he never got on her bad side, as she definitely was a force to be reckoned with. Anyone that could get Oikawa on the verbal defensive was.

"Mean," Oikawa whined, crossing his arms and putting a defeated puppy expression. "So mean."

"Tooru-chan, we're almost there. Just behave for a few more minutes, ok?"

Oikawa instantly perked up at that, looking to Iwaizumi with new excitement. "Really? Where?" He stared intently out the window, also leaning over to Iwaizumi's side of the car and moving as close as he could to his window. "Wheeeere?"

Aimi laughed but remained silent, neatly parking the car in an available space. By the time the car fully stopped and the engine was turned off, Oikawa was practically bouncing in his seat, hand hovering over the seat belt buckle.

"Tooru, we're here. Boys, follow me."

Oikawa and Iwaizumi walked behind Aimi as she led them into the building, going up several floors in the lift. Oikawa looked progressively more confused as they went up, the time between the pleading looks he gave Iwaizumi getting shorter as he narrowed down possible scenarios for the surprise.

"Iwa-chan, did Nee-chan use you as bait to get me to the doctors? I don't want to go to the doctor! I'm not sick!"

"Oikawa, your sister isn't taking you to see the doctor."

"Iwa-chan, this is definitely the doctor's." Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Aimi had arrived at the reception, Aimi confirming her appointment with the receptionist as Oikawa eyed the place suspiciously, firmly set in his beliefs.

Iwaizumi decided that this was probably the best time to tell Oikawa the truth before he started wailing bloody murder in the middle of the waiting room.

"Your sister is getting her baby checked up to make sure he's healthy," Iwaizumi said, Oikawa's mouth opening in both shock and realisation.

"Really? And how do you know the baby is a boy?" Iwaizumi winced slightly, not sure if he should have kept that particular detail secret. However, his first goal had been accomplished, with Oikawa's eyes wide with curiosity and excitement, and at no risk of sudden, loud outbursts.

"Tooru, Hajime-kun, follow me."

They entered a small room, where a slender female doctor wearing glasses was waiting for them. Aimi closed the door behind her, instructing Oikawa and Iwaizumi to take the available seats. The doctor looked up from her notes, raising her eyebrow at the sight of Oikawa and Iwaizumi sitting in front of her.

"Who have you bought along today, Oikawa-san?" she asked, looking curious.

Aimi laughed, petting both Oikawa's and Iwaizumi's heads. "Sorry for the lack of warning Dr Mayuri, this is my younger brother, Tooru and his best friend, Hajime. I thought it might be a fun experience for them."

"I see, it's not a worry! We'll start off with just a general check of your blood pressure and weight, and then I'll check how your baby is going."

Oikawa fidgeted impatiently as Mayuri wrapped a cuff around Aimi's arm, first measuring her blood pressure, and then instructing her to stand on some scales nearby. Iwaizumi shared his impatience. There was something about a new life coming into the world that ignited a sense of exhilaration within Iwaizumi, particularly as it was something he has never experienced firsthand.

"We're getting there," Mayuri said, clearly sensing the boys' impatience and letting out a gentle smile. "Oikawa-san, could you stand over there, I would like to measure your belly size now. Tooru-kun, Hajime-kun, come along too."

"Finally!" Oikawa exclaimed, sliding his chair back and standing next to Aimi. Iwaizumi stood beside him, taking the chance to examine Aimi's stomach closely. It looked massive to him, and Iwaizumi had a hard time wondering how Aimi managed to move around, let alone follow a daily routine whilst carrying a second person around with her all the time.

"Tooru-kun, would you like to read the measurement on the tape?" Mayuri asked, motioning to the measuring tape she was holding with a tilt of her head.

"Thirty-four!" Oikawa declared, his face furrowed in concentration. "Is that a good number?"

Mayuri smiled, nodding. "Yes, that means that the baby is growing healthily."

"Ooh, did you hear that Iwa-chan?"

"Oikawa, I think the better question was whether there was anyone that didn't hear you."

Oikawa rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Iwaizumi. "You're just jealous that you won't have an awesome nephew."

"Next up is checking the baby's heart rate. I'm sure you two know where your heart is?" Oikawa nodded in response to Mayuri's question, placing his right hand over his heart.

"Here!"

"Very good! Again, I am just measuring to see if everything is normal." Mayuri inserted both ends of a stethoscope into her ears, bending down onto her knees and moving the stethoscope around to better listen to the baby's heart rate. She remained in that position for several seconds before removing the stethoscope from her ears and standing up.

"Is everything ok?" Oikawa asked, biting his lower lip. Mayuri smiled, waving Oikawa over.

"Do you want to have a listen?"

"Can I?" Oikawa asked Aimi with enthusiasm, putting on his most pleading expression.

"Tooru, go ahead." Aimi could not help the amusement that lit up her face as she looked at Oikawa, whose face was alight with the excitement that only came with a brand new discovery.

Iwaizumi watched with fascination as Mayuri helped Oikawa adjust the stethoscope, and how Oikawa's face changed when he finally heard the baby's heartbeat.

"Iwa-chan, this is almost better than looking at the stars at night," he breathed out in shock, the look of wonder clear on his face. "It's so real."

"It's always exciting to hear a new life come into the world," Mayuri commented, helping Oikawa to take off the stethoscope once he was done. "There's also something else that's really exciting that I want to show you. Hajime-kun, Tooru-kun, put your hand on Oikawa-san's belly."

"I hope your hands aren't too cold, boys," Aimi joked as both boys placed their hands on her belly. Iwaizumi already realised what Mayuri was wanting them to experience, but asked the question anyway as he knew Oikawa would otherwise.

"What are looking for?"

Mayuri merely smiled. "You will know when you feel it."

"Feel what?" Oikawa asked, staring at his hand where it rested on Aimi's belly. "What are we-OOH!"

Iwaizumi felt it the same time that Oikawa did, the sudden movement where the baby had just kicked. Iwaizumi now understood what Oikawa had meant when he commented that it felt real – Iwaizumi had known that the baby inside Aimi's stomach would grow up to be Takeru, but feeling the kick against his hand made it feel all the more real, and less of a mere statement of fact.

It was not just Oikawa's life that Iwaizumi would be saving today. Takeru would never have needed to move to Tokyo if Oikawa survived, as there would be no reason why Aimi would be unable to look after him. Oikawa already had the opportunity to experience something he never did before Iwaizumi's Revival.

"Because the baby is so big, he tends to move a lot. It makes it hard for your sister to sleep," Mayuri commented, watching the looks of awe on Oikawa's and Iwaizumi's face. With a final nod, she returned to her desk, sitting down and pulling out a notebook.

"Everything looks good to me," Mayuri declared, writing down some final notes. "Does a check-up same time next week work for you, Oikawa-san?" Aimi nodded in confirmation, Mayuri recording the new appointment on her calendar. She then turned towards Oikawa and Iwaizumi, both looking slightly disappointed that they would not be seeing any more for the day as they moved their hands away.

"Are you ready to look after your nephew, Tooru-kun?"

"Definitely," Oikawa grinned, placing his arm around Iwaizumi's shoulder. "I will teach him everything and he will look up to me, wanting to be as brilliant as his wonderful uncle Tooru!"

"No, I think I'll do a better job," Iwaizumi said, unable to wipe the smile from his face. He would definitely enjoy seeing Takeru grow up.

Mayuri laughed at their responses, pulling out some lollipops from her drawer and handing one each to Oikawa and Iwaizumi. "I think you will both do well."

"Thank you again, Dr Mayuri" Aimi said, motioning for Oikawa and Iwaizumi to follow her out. "We'll drop by the bakery for a quick snack, alright boys?"

"Miya-san's?" Oikawa asked in confirmation, mouth already sucking his lollipop.

"Where else, Tooru?" Aimi replied, shaking her head slightly in exasperation.

The visit to Miyamoto's Bakery was a quick one this time, with Aimi asking Iwaizumi in advance during the car ride what he was wanting to eat. Oikawa and Iwaizumi waited just outside the entrance of the store as Aimi went in, placing an order for milk bread, a red bean bun, and melon bread with the lady at the counter. Said food was quickly devoured in the drive back to Oikawa's place, where Iwaizumi accepted Aimi's offer to stay for dinner. Living next door to Oikawa really had its perks sometimes, because Oikawa's mum made some of the best agedashi tofu ever, and Iwaizumi's parents would always let him stay over.

"I'm home," Oikawa announced, slipping off his shoes and roughly aligning them against the wall with his feet as he rushed inside. Iwaizumi took his time untying his shoelaces, neatly lining up his shoes and readjusting the positioning of Oikawa's as well before sliding into a pair of slippers.

"Welcome back!" The voice of Oikawa's mum called out from the kitchen, where the faint aroma of dinner could already be smelt. "How did the check-up go, Aimi?"

Iwaizumi followed Oikawa to the living room, leaving Aimi behind to discuss the results of the check-up with her mum.

"Oi, Oikawa slow down!" Iwaizumi grumbled, Oikawa deciding to increase his walk to a near-run inside his own house.

"I'm just so excited, Iwa-chan!" When Iwaizumi finally caught up to Oikawa, Oikawa was kneeling in front of the television, the cabinet beneath opened as he started to look through his collection of DVDs and videotapes.

"Excited for…?"

Oikawa stopped looking for several seconds, making eye contact with Iwaizumi and giving him his most serious expression. "I am going to be the world's best uncle," he announced, completely straight-faced, before turning back to the cabinet again. "Iwa-chan can be the second best," Oikawa added as an afterthought.

Iwaizumi could not help the chuckle that left him. "Tell me that after your nephew crawls away from you, Shittykawa. What are you looking for anyway?" He noted the small pile of DVDs and videotapes that was starting to build behind Oikawa. Iwaizumi was hoping that Oikawa was not actually planning on watching all those movies tonight.

"The best alien and space movies made! I need to do my duty as the best uncle ever and teach my nephew everything there is to know about aliens!" Oikawa looked almost manic as his passion for space and aliens took over.

"Oh no," Iwaizumi said, heart sinking as he noted one of the movie titles. He definitely saw Star Wars and E.T. in the pile, and he had seen E.T. enough times with Oikawa that he had no trouble recollecting the lines from the movie. "I am not letting you force anyone else to watch those movies, especially not an innocent baby."

"Iwa-chan, these movies are classics, you cannot possibly compare it in quality to that stomping dinosaur you call Godzilla. But then, you're both brutes, so I suppose you liking Godzilla makes sense- OW IWA-CHAN THAT HURT!"

Oikawa gave Iwaizumi his most hurt expression as he rubbed his head where Iwaizumi had whacked it with Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. "You better not have damaged the tape inside, why do you always hit me so hard?"

"Because you deserve it." However, Iwaizumi also bent down next to Oikawa, looking through the rows of tapes neatly lined up. "How much are you planning on watching tonight, Oikawa?"

Oikawa bit his lip, frowning slightly as he pondered his response. "Maybe we can get through the original trilogy tonight, and then tomorrow we can do Star Trek-"

"Does sleep fall anywhere in your plans tonight?" Iwaizumi had a feeling that it would not. Oikawa's favourite movies were practically oxygen to him, and he would not hesitate in taking advantage of the weekend to binge watch them.

"You're staying over the night, right Iwa-chan? Pleaseeeee?" Oikawa dodged Iwaizumi's initial question, hoping to distract him.

"I'll need to, because someone needs to make sure your eyes don't turn square from watching too many movies at once."

"Iwa-chan, I always knew you couldn't live without me," Oikawa beamed, taking Iwaizumi's response as an affirmative. You have no idea, Iwaizumi thought in response to Oikawa's statement. It was true how little purpose he had had after Oikawa's death, and he only truly noticed how bad it was when reliving his elementary school days. Iwaizumi had felt more alive the past few days than he had in the last ten years.

"Boys, it's dinner time," Oikawa's mum announced, entering the room and interrupting their conversation. "You can watch movies after you have eaten at the table." Turning to Iwaizumi with a smile, she also added "You're staying over for the night, aren't you Hajime-kun? I'll give your mum a call."

"Iwa-chan is going to watch movies with me tonight!" Oikawa confirmed with a grin, closing the cabinet door as he stood up and placed his chosen movies on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Let's eat, Iwa-chan!"

Dinner was rushed in Oikawa's haste to return to his movie marathon, with Oikawa running back to the living room barely fifteen minutes after arriving at the dining table. Iwaizumi joined him several minutes later, thanking Oikawa's mum for the food, before joining Oikawa and noting that Oikawa had not only bought down a blanket from upstairs, but also had several snacks ready for consumption on the coffee table.

Oikawa was currently sitting on the couch, nearly hiding underneath the blanket with only his head visible. On spotting Iwaizumi, he carefully pulled back the blanket beside him, allowing Iwaizumi to sit next to him on the couch before also hiding Iwaizumi within the warmth and relative security of the blanket.

"Ready, Iwa-chan?" Iwaizumi looked at Oikawa, captivated by the pure excitement and joy on his face that he rarely showed to anyone else. This was the Oikawa that was Iwaizumi's childhood best friend, the nerdy Oikawa that knew more about space and aliens than anyone else.

"You'd play the movie even if I wasn't ready, Oikawa." Oikawa laughed in agreement, moving his arm up so the remote he was holding was just peeking out from above the top of the blanket, Star Wars starting to play on the television.

As Star Wars continued playing on the television, Iwaizumi also could not help looking at the digital clock display sitting above it, particularly as they went through several movies. Whilst Iwaizumi knew that saving Oikawa had been down to making sure that he did not disappear after school, it was an additional layer of reassurance when the display reached midnight, highlighting the start of a new day. Oikawa had successfully reached the 11th of December.

I did it, Oikawa, Iwaizumi thought with both joy and relief. I did it. He had changed the events of the past. He had saved Oikawa.

With the very real warmth of Oikawa beside him on the couch, sharing the same blanket, Iwaizumi could finally let go of the memories that haunted him for ten years, the utter worry, then the mind numbing sense of raw loss that never faded over time.

Iwaizumi closed his eyes as Oikawa snuggled closer to him, wrapping an arm around his torso.

* * *

Iwaizumi felt himself waking up to the sound of birds chirping, a thin ray of sunlight shining through the gap in the curtains. He was hyper conscious of the warmth he felt on his back, and of the arm wrapped tightly around his torso. Oikawa's breathing was slow and steady, indicating that he was still asleep, and had Iwaizumi been able to turn around and look at Oikawa's face, he was fairly certain that Oikawa would be drooling to an extent as well.

Iwaizumi closed his eyes, wanting to fall back into a light slumber and not disturb Oikawa, however he was suddenly aware of several voices coming from the kitchen. Opening his eyes again and eying the clock above the television reading seven am, Iwaizumi was wondering why Oikawa's parents were even awake at this time of the day before also picking up the voices of his parents in the kitchen.

"So it's true," Oikawa's mum said, Iwaizumi hearing a faint clinking noise that could have been a cup placed on the bench.

"Yes." Iwaizumi heard a chair being moved, and the quieter noise of someone suddenly sitting down on it. Iwaizumi tried to sit up, managing to untangle Oikawa's arm from his torso without waking him, and strained his ears to catch more of their parents' conversation.

"…he played volleyball with the boys, doesn't he? We need to tell them something convincing."

"Iwa….Iwa-chan?" Sandwiched between Iwaizumi and the couch, Oikawa began to move, his brown hair poking up in all directions, eyes half open as he looked around the room with confusion. "What's….going….on?" Oikawa let out a drawn out yawn.

Oikawa spent a second squinting at the clock before rubbing his eyes and looking back at Iwaizumi. "What time is it?"

"Oikawa, your parents aren't normally awake at seven in the morning on weekends, are they?" Iwaizumi whispered, motioning for Oikawa to keep his voice low. Oikawa shook his head, chewing on his bottom lip anxiously as he picked up on the voices from the kitchen.

"Your parents are here too." Iwaizumi nodded in response, also seeing the unasked "Why?" in Oikawa's eyes before motioning again for him to be silent. Both boys shuffled to the end of the couch, remaining silent and trying to hear as much as possible. Iwaizumi felt his heart rate pick up, dreading what he and Oikawa could overhear.

"Where did they find the body?" The voice of Oikawa's mum choked as she asked the question, Oikawa's eyes widening in shock as he met Iwaizumi's eyes.

"Body?" Oikawa repeated, looking stunned. Iwaizumi strained his ears, not quite believing what he had just heard.

"The creek near the school. I'm not sure what the police are thinking right now, I came over here once Nakamura-san called me." Iwaizumi's mum sounded hoarse, her tone defeated.

"Did she tell you anything else?" A frantic male voice that Iwaizumi recognised as Oikawa's dad asked. Iwaizumi's heart beat was now frantic as he wondered what was going on, frantically trying to remember something, anything that would give him a hint. The current situation made no sense at all. Why was there a body in the creek? The very same creek that he had found Oikawa's body in the first time?

"Matsukawa-kun never came home after school yesterday. His parents assumed he was out with friends, until they were told that he had headed straight home after school yesterday-"

"Mat-Mattsun?" It came out as a strangled cry, Oikawa looking like he was about to cry, and Iwaizumi covered Oikawa's mouth with his hand, trying to keep him quiet. However, Iwaizumi's hands were also shaking as the implications of what was said sunk in. This made no sense at all. Why was Matsukawa dead, why did he disappear yesterday of all days, it made no sense at all-

"Hajime? Tooru-chan?" Iwaizumi and Oikawa both looked up to see their parents standing next to the couch, having heard Oikawa's earlier cry. Iwaizumi's mum bent down, giving both boys a hug as they remained frozen from the shock. "I'm so sorry, so sorry you had to find out this way." At this stage, Oikawa broke down, shaking and sobbing relentlessly into her chest.

Hajime sat on the bench, staring aimlessly at the sky. The wind blew discarded rubbish across the footpath in front of him. Hajime would have completely ignored it, had a constant flapping noise not drawn his attention. Sparing a glance at the newspaper that was jammed roughly into the gaps in the bench, he noted the bold headline reading "BODY FOUND IN LOCAL PARK", and a smaller photo beneath it of a familiar boy with curled black hair and thick eyebrows. Hajime had barely enough energy to process or truly care about what he had just seen.

It was weird how sometimes memories could become so deeply etched into the brain that every minute detail could be recalled, but there were others that disappeared into oblivion. Iwaizumi clearly remembered that the newspaper was dated the 18th December, 2004. He was fairly certain that he had seen Matsukawa at volleyball that week. Which meant that somehow in this Revival, he had died a week earlier this time.

Why? Iwaizumi thought. Why?! But his subconscious knew the answer. The Iwaizumi of ten years ago had completely missed the bigger picture around him, completely focused on Oikawa and wallowing in his loss. He had only been vaguely aware of other happenings around him, but never pressed further for detail, accepting what he had been told. There had only been one major thing that Iwaizumi had changed yesterday.

Iwaizumi had saved Oikawa from dying on the 10th, but Matsukawa had somehow died instead. He buried his head in his mum's chest, face dry but thoughts wild as Oikawa continued sobbing uncontrollably beside him.


	5. (2004) Failure

Iwaizumi was frustrated by his total inability to properly remember the events of his childhood, head meeting his desk for probably the twentieth time that day. His parents had made him head home straight after he had overheard the conversation about Matsukawa's death, starting his weekend with the memory of Oikawa crying desperately in his parents' arms.

Iwaizumi used his time alone to untangle the mess that was the situation currently surrounding him. Beside him, resting on the desk, was a notebook where he had dumped everything that he could remember from the past down. He had split his memories into two columns, certain and uncertain, with the list of items on the uncertain column far outweighing those in the certain column. There were only two dot points in the certain column – that Matsukawa's original death was definitely 17th December, and that it was connected to Oikawa's original death due to both timing and location. However, Iwaizumi had no idea what this connection was, only that it had to be related to the fact that Oikawa's location this time around had changed – Iwaizumi had made Oikawa follow him back into the school building. What would have happened if Iwaizumi had not made that lie back then?

"This is going nowhere," Iwaizumi groaned, head again meeting the desk, his hand releasing the pen that he had been using to write with. A new thought crossed his mind as he recalled the newspaper that he found with the news on Matsukawa. Iwaizumi raised his head, grabbing his pen before it rolled off, and adding a new dot point to the certain column – he only heard about Matsukawa's death in the newspaper, and not from school.

Playing with his pen as he continued thinking, Iwaizumi was truly missing the ability to google something and get a direct answer to his query. If only he had researched the events of his childhood as an adult! Iwaizumi looked back over at the uncertain column, where he had scribbled a vague recollection of reading an article about serial killings in Miyagi, in particular a case on three elementary schoolers being killed. Two victims, Iwaizumi knew for certain - Oikawa and Matsukawa. But he could not recollect the third, nor could he remember who was arrested for it, seeing as the killings had stopped soon after. That was probably both the school and parents working together to make sure the students did not make a big deal out of it.

Iwaizumi let out another groan. It felt as if the world were conspiring against him. And speaking of the world, Iwaizumi was wondering what was going on with his Revival. Normally Revival would keep Iwaizumi stuck in a loop until he had successfully managed to prevent the victim from dying, but Matsukawa was now dead again and nothing had happened. If that was the case, why had Revival sent him back in time then?

Iwaizumi threw the pen across the room in irritation, watching as it hit the wall and clattered towards the floor. His head once again returned to the desk, Iwaizumi this time without the energy to get back up again.

"I have no idea," Iwaizumi said to the desk, voice muffled. "I have no idea what's going on anymore." He was not sure if he was eager for the weekend to be over or whether he dreaded it.

* * *

Iwaizumi's alarm was an unwelcome start to the school week, its familiar noise irritating him more than usual. He moved to silence it, and rolled onto his back once it was off, staring at the ceiling in thought. Iwaizumi was grateful that there was no volleyball practice on Mondays, as he wanted to put off having to see everyone's reactions to the news of Matsukawa's death. It had already been a draining weekend.

"Hajime!" His mum knocked at his bedroom door several times, however made no move to come in. "You'll need to get to school earlier today as your principal wants to have a chat to you and Tooru-kun before class."

"Fine." Iwaizumi did not have the energy to say much else, reluctantly getting out of bed.

"I will be coming with you, and so will Tooru-kun's mum." At that statement Iwaizumi looked at his bedroom door, imagining his mum behind it, and frowning slightly.

"Why are you coming along? It's not like I don't know where the principal's office is." This time, Iwaizumi's mum did open the door, looking apologetic but Iwaizumi also recognising the stubborn look in her eyes.

"I'm coming along. Hurry up and get dressed, you don't want to be late." Iwaizumi did not put up a fight, quickly getting dressed and eating the breakfast that had been prepared for him.

The short drive to school was both silent and awkward, as neither Iwaizumi nor his mum felt able to voice their feelings. Iwaizumi also felt slightly uncomfortable as he headed towards the principal's office with his mum, noting the curious looks on the faces of students as they walked past, including some of his classmates. Awaiting them at the end of their walk was Oikawa and his mum, who were waiting outside of the office for Iwaizumi to turn up.

Iwaizumi took in the sight of Oikawa, looking both defeated and deflated. His eyes also looked slightly pink, as if he had been crying earlier that morning. Iwaizumi felt something within him crack as he compared this Oikawa to the joyful, excited Oikawa that was around on Friday. Even though Iwaizumi had achieved his goal of saving Oikawa's life on Friday, seeing Oikawa down like this made Iwaizumi feel as if he had achieved absolutely nothing. Seeing Oikawa like this made Iwaizumi want to scoop him up in a protective hug and never let him go.

"Oikawa, Iwaizumi, please come in and take a seat." Iwaizumi reluctantly looked away from Oikawa as he entered the principal's office, taking the seat closest to the window on his left, as his mum sat to his right next to Oikawa's mum.

"I know better than to ask how you are all feeling, as I am sure that you are all feeling quite hurt and upset right now," the principal began, resting his hands on the desk. "However there are a few things I need both of you to understand before you can go back to class."

"What else is there to understand?" Oikawa snapped, looking down at his lap, lips quivering. "Mattsun is dead, and nothing is going to bring him back to life." Oikawa sounded particularly bitter at that last statement, Iwaizumi hearing a faint undercurrent of blame in his voice.

"Tooru!" Oikawa's mum reprimanded, sadness crossing her face as she placed her arm around Oikawa, trying to comfort him. "I'm sorry about that," she said to the principal.

"It's perfectly fine, Oikawa-san. This is something no ten year old should need to deal with." Turning his attention back to Iwaizumi and Oikawa, the principal continued speaking.

"Your classmates are unaware of what happened to Matsukawa on Friday. All of the parents have been notified of course, however I have felt that it is in the best interests of the students for this not to become general knowledge now until we know exactly what happened to Matsukawa."

"So you're lying to everyone?" Iwaizumi interrupted, scowl crossing his face. This probably was one of the reasons why Iwaizumi had such a difficult time recollecting any murders that had happened in his childhood. Had Oikawa not been killed, it was likely that Iwaizumi may never have actually learnt the truth about what was going on. Finding out about Matsukawa had been a sheer accident from reading that discarded newspaper. Iwaizumi's scowl got deeper at that thought.

"For now, students have been told that Matsukawa has suddenly left due to a family emergency. Once we have full confirmation from the police as to what happened, we will inform everyone when the school term resumes next year. We don't want too many stories or rumours spreading that may upset people."

"That's still lying!" This time it was Oikawa who interrupted, and he also looked like he was about to cry. "It's like you're trying to make everyone forget Mattsun!"

"Tooru, please." Oikawa's mum hugged him tighter, and she also looked like she was going to cry. Oikawa's face lost some of its anger as he accepted his mum's embrace. "I know you're upset but sometimes you just have to accept the choices that adults make to look after you. Do you want everyone in class to be upset like you?"

Oikawa's lip quivered, eyes nearly covered by his brown hair. "No," he said quietly, barely audible. "I don't."

Iwaizumi himself was not sure how to feel. On one hand, he felt that it was wrong to withhold the truth – shouldn't everyone have the right to know what happened? But his hindsight from his own experiences growing up having lost a close friend also told him that students could avoid the angst that had plagued him if they did not learn the truth. Iwaizumi sighed, conflicted. No wonder their parents had also been invited to the meeting.

"I know this will be hard," the principal continued. "But I want the best for all the students. They will all learn the truth eventually, but not right now. Will you two be able to help me out?"

Oikawa nodded once, silently, before going back to staring at his knees.

"Ok," Iwaizumi answered. It was not like either he or Oikawa had much choice in the matter anyway.

"Again, I am really sorry to ask this of you two. If at any time you need to talk to someone, please feel free to talk to your teacher Saito-sensei, or come in here to see me. And of course, there are your parents."

"Can I stay home today?" Oikawa asked quietly. "Everyone will notice that I'm upset today and they'll ask me questions and I'll probably cry."

"Of course," the principal said. "Same to you, Iwaizumi. If you both need the rest of today off, that's fine. I would like to see you in tomorrow though, if possible."

Oikawa's mum stood up, also pulling Oikawa up. "If that is all, I will be taking Tooru home now."

Iwaizumi's mum also stood up, Iwaizumi standing up beside her. "We'll be leaving as well. Thank you for your support."

Iwaizumi felt numb as they all left the school in silence, heading towards the car. He had no idea what he was going to do next.

* * *

Both Iwaizumi and Oikawa did end up going to school on Tuesday, however their methods of coping with their current situation varied vastly. Iwaizumi felt it was easier to isolate himself from his classmates and blame it on a fake illness he said he 'felt approaching', which ensured that everyone stayed away from him without being too suspicious or probing further. However, Oikawa had taken the opposite approach and immersed himself in the company of his classmates, acting as if there was nothing wrong. But only Iwaizumi, used to years of hanging around Oikawa, could see how fake and forced his exterior was. He could see Oikawa constantly struggling to keep up his positive act, and read his turmoil like an open book.

It got to the stage that by the time volleyball practice ended on Tuesday afternoon, Iwaizumi was sorely tempted to beat Oikawa up and get some sense into him. He could already see the damage that bottling up his emotions to that extent was doing to Oikawa. Iwaizumi made sure that no one else was within a hearing vicinity before confronting Oikawa, pulling him to the side as they walked towards the exit of the school.

"Oikawa, you can't keep doing this all week. I don't want to watch you fall apart."

Oikawa turned away from Iwaizumi, looking to the side. "Iwa-chan, I'm fine. No one thinks I'm acting weird or anything."

Iwaizumi grabbed the front of Oikawa's jumper, trying to get him to meet his eyes and just understand. "Shittykawa, I can see how fake it is. I can see how much you're hurting!"

"It's just for the rest of the week ok? I said I'm fine!" Oikawa had raised his voice to the point where Bokuto and Nakumura walking nearby had heard, the pair approaching them with curiosity.

"Wow, this is a different kind of fighting between the two of you," Nakamura commented, eyes narrowed slightly as he continued to examine the pair.

"Really?" Bokuto interrupted, rapidly looking between Iwaizumi and Oikawa, both currently staring at each other stubbornly. "Actually, you two look like Pokemon trainers about to fight each other. Fighting over a gym?" Bokuto's joke fell flat as both Iwaizumi and Oikawa turned to look at him. Bokuto raised his arms in defeat. "Ok ok, maybe not, why don't we go to Miya-san's and get something to eat? That always makes me happy when I'm down."

"I'm fine, Ko-chan," Oikawa said, moving away from Iwaizumi. "I'm not that hungry. I'm going home. See you all tomorrow!"

"Oikawa, wait-" Iwaizumi moved forward to follow Oikawa, but unexpectedly felt someone grab onto his jacket, pulling him back.

"He looks like he wants to be alone," Bokuto said, sounding depressed, his hair looking as if it had drooped several centimetres in response.

"That's what I'm worried about," Iwaizumi exclaimed, successfully breaking free from Bokuto's grip before being stopped by Nakamura, who stood in his path.

"You guys are besties, but sometimes we need space, Iwaizumi," Nakamura said, staring at the direction that Oikawa left in.

Iwaizumi deflated at Nakamura's words, seeing the truth. Had Oikawa been on edge because Iwaizumi was constantly hovering and observing him? Was Iwaizumi just overanalysing the situation and seeing things worse than they were? Iwaizumi realised that his unique perspective as a twenty year old may have skewed the way he saw things.

"You guys are right." Iwaizumi swallowed hard, still unable to swallow his anxiety over Oikawa, but deciding to let it drop for today. "Bokuto, Nakamura, if you're still going to Miya-san's I'll go with you." Maybe handling the situation this way was better for both Oikawa and Iwaizumi.

"That's the spirit," Bokuto exclaimed, regaining his usual energy as his eyes lit up at the prospect of food. "To Miya-san's!"

Iwaizumi tried to maintain this mindset for the rest of the week, giving Oikawa his space both inside and outside of the classroom, as well as trying not to analyse his behaviour too thoroughly. However, even whilst trying to give Oikawa the benefit of the doubt, he still felt as if Oikawa was crumbling behind his positive façade. It was even more difficult to leave Oikawa alone as his instincts were screaming at Iwaizumi to confront him again, but he had no one else who knew the truth about Matsukawa's disappearance to discuss their situation with.

Bokuto noticed his foul mood during Wednesday's practice.

"Hey Iwa." Iwaizumi was packing his sports uniform back into his bag when Bokuto approached, looking slightly apprehensive. Iwaizumi also noted that Oikawa was nowhere to be found, having gotten changed and promptly leaving once practice had concluded. "You alright? Normally you're like grrrrr, but today you've been like GRRRRR, if you know what I mean?" Bokuto waved his arms and frowned in an attempt to mimic what he believed were Iwaizumi's angry faces.

"No, and my face doesn't look like that, Bokuto." Iwaizumi was not sure whether to be amused or annoyed at Bokuto's attempts to imitate him.

"Iwa, yes it does," Bokuto said matter-of-factly, attempting to give off an air of knowledge. "Oikawa explained it to me, and I quite agree. But mate, you seem more…angry than usual?" Bokuto looked thoughtful before muttering under his breath, "Is angry the right word for it? Damn."

Iwaizumi sighed, knowing what Bokuto was getting at. "I'm alright. But yeah, I've also been worried."

"About Oikawa?" Iwaizumi felt as if Bokuto's owl-like eyes were boring into his, intense. For all of the childish air that Bokuto gave off, Iwaizumi currently felt as if he were prey sighted by a hunter, and that he would be unable to hide the root of the issue from Bokuto.

"Yes," Iwaizumi confirmed, zipping up his sport's bag and slinging it onto his shoulder. "I generally worry about Oikawa, but I'm worrying about him more."

Bokuto let out a noise of agreement as he followed Iwaizumi out of the gym. He was silent for several seconds, looking as if he were thinking about something, before looking to Iwaizumi with a serious expression on his face.

"You were on the other side of the court so you may not have seen, but Oikawa's legs have a lot of scratches, like he climbed up a tree and fell off it or something. Maybe he was walking through some bushes."

"What?" Iwaizumi did not attempt to hold back the exclamation that came out of his mouth.

"They weren't there yesterday. Oikawa also said he was heading home early again." Bokuto let out a drawn out sound of frustration, dramatically running this hand through his hair. "I don't know what else to tell you, Iwa."

"No, you've helped out a lot, thanks Bokuto!" Iwaizumi had a horrible suspicion in the back of his mind as he farewelled Bokuto, running straight back towards Oikawa's place. He was out of breath when he knocked on Oikawa's door, unsurprised to see his mum answer.

"Oh, Hajime-kun! You're home early today! Is Tooru not with you?"

Iwaizumi bit back the curse that he wanted to let out as his suspicion was confirmed. What the hell was Oikawa up to now?

* * *

Iwaizumi had been ready to confront Oikawa about what was going on sometime at school on Thursday, but when the opportunity presented itself at the end of the day as they left practice, he found himself unable to act as negative thoughts entered his mind. Ninety-five percent of the time, Oikawa loved having Iwaizumi's attention and basked in it. The other five percent of the time though, Oikawa was pricklier than a bed of roses. In this case, Iwaizumi feared that his question would trigger Oikawa's abrasive mood. He thought about his options for several seconds before throwing caution to the wind, thinking that there was not much else he could lose anyway.

"Oikawa," Iwaizumi called out, pulling Oikawa roughly to a stop. "Where have you been going after practice this week?"

"Iwa-chan, where else do you think I'll go? I went home." Oikawa had that smile on his face again, the fake one that irritated Iwaizumi to no end.

"Oikawa, I went straight home after practice yesterday, and you weren't there." Iwaizumi gave Oikawa several seconds to respond, however when Oikawa showed no signs of responding Iwaizumi continued, hoping that Oikawa would not react too poorly. Oikawa's face still wore that smile, but Iwaizumi could see it slowly fade by the second. "Bokuto noticed that you suddenly have a lot of scratches. Oikawa, I don't want you to get hurt-"

"Hurt, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa's face lost all traces of his smile as he went on the offensive. "I'm already hurt, Iwaizumi." Iwaizumi could not conceal the shock that crossed his face, feeling as if he were slapped. Oikawa never called Iwaizumi by his name. Never. "I'm just trying to do something about the situation, because you clearly aren't!"

"What do you mean doing something, Oikawa?" Despite himself, Iwaizumi also started to feel the anger pooling within. What did Oikawa think he could do that Iwaizumi could not? At the very least, Iwaizumi had a good ten years of life experience that Oikawa did not, and knew a lot about the horrors of the world that Oikawa was still sheltered from.

Oikawa glared back at Iwaizumi. "The school doesn't want everyone to know about Mattsun because someone killed him! He didn't just fall into the creek!"

"So you want to find the killer? Are you an idiot?" Iwaizumi was glad that there was no one around, their argument definitely reaching the yelling stage. Oikawa looked as if there was something he dearly wanted to say to Iwaizumi, but was refraining purely by biting down on his lip.

"I know what I'm doing. But you never trust me when I'm doing things on my own, so I won't bother convincing you, Iwa-chan." Oikawa's voice was practically dripping with venom as he stormed off. Iwaizumi was frozen, unable to move and cursing how the confrontation had turned out. He had just made it worse. Significantly worse. He had seen the tears in Oikawa's eyes as he left.

* * *

Iwaizumi was glad that Friday was the last school day of the year, because he was not sure how much longer he could take the current situation. The daily, internal turmoil. And of course, Oikawa himself was an entirely different issue altogether. Not only was Oikawa completely ignoring him, Iwaizumi could do nothing much but watch Oikawa's internal self-destruction whilst completely faking his mood around his classmates. The holidays would hopefully provide an opportunity to fix everything that had gone dreadfully wrong.

Iwaizumi spent the day feeling as if his head was buried in mud with the sluggish pace in which the day was passing by. The only time he interacted with anyone all day was when Michimiya grabbed his arm on the way out to lunch, her face looking determined.

"Iwaizumi-kun," she began, a tinge of nervousness in her voice. However, the look in her eyes was anything but, and the intensity at which she looked at him made Iwaizumi feel uncomfortable for some reason. "Good luck with Oikawa-kun."

"What?" Iwaizumi's voice came out hoarse, slightly raspy from how little he had spoken that day.

"You're fighting with Oikawa-kun, aren't you?" Michimiya elaborated. "I hope you two make up."

"Oh. Yeah, we are." Michimiya and Iwaizumi looked at each other awkwardly for several seconds before Iwaizumi spoke again. "Thanks for the luck, I'll need it."

But Iwaizumi never had the chance to talk to Oikawa again that day. He figured that sometime before or after volleyball practice was the best chance to catch Oikawa alone, however when Irihata blew the whistle that signalled the start of practice, Oikawa was not there. Iwaizumi practiced with one eye on the door, waiting for Oikawa to arrive, but he never turned up. This alone made Iwaizumi extremely worried, as there was very little that would be above volleyball on Oikawa's priority list. Oikawa would not simply skip a session of volleyball unless he had a very good reason to do so.

Iwaizumi spent the walk back home increasingly worrying about Oikawa. He really hoped that Oikawa did not somehow injure himself doing whatever he was doing to the point where he was unable to get home himself. Iwaizumi pulled his phone from out from his pocket, looking at it for several seconds before deciding to contact Oikawa. Oikawa loved using his phone and rubbing in the superiority of his model over Iwaizumi's, and hopefully if Iwaizumi were to contact him with it for once, Oikawa might be willing to pick up.

Iwaizumi dialled Oikawa's number, hoping that the ringing that he was currently hearing would be replaced by the sound of Oikawa's voice. Iwaizumi held the phone against his ear until the ringing was replaced by a beep and an automated voicemail message. Iwaizumi ended the call in frustration, pressing redial but knowing deep down that Oikawa would not pick up.

"Damn it!" Iwaizumi also took the chance to let out a few swear words that he had picked up during his teenage years.

Iwaizumi gave up on calling, instead typing up a quick text message for Oikawa. Hopefully he would at least look at the message and be willing to have a chat with Iwaizumi later on. Iwaizumi set the phone to vibrate and shoved it back into his pocket, continuing his walk back home. As he walked, a nearby sign across the road caught his attention, and Iwaizumi stopped in his tracks as he realised what location was written in block letters across it. It was the park that Matsukawa's body was found in the first time Iwaizumi was ten.

The sun was starting to set as Iwaizumi approached the park, the clear sky painted in various shades of orange and red. However, the sheer brightness of the sun itself as it sunk into the horizon made the red surrounding it look ominously blood-red in colour. Iwaizumi felt himself stop at the entrance of the park, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe, as if his lungs had suddenly shrunk in his anxiety. The pounding of his heart felt abnormally loud as Iwaizumi scanned the landscape, not initially noticing anything out of place.

He forced himself forward, mulch crunching beneath his feet as he moved, wanting to confirm that the park was empty. There was no logical reason at all why Oikawa would be here at all, but Iwaizumi felt that he may as well check due to its' proximity to their homes. Iwaizumi refused to let himself think of the other reason why he wanted to check this particular park, the true reason that had appeared due to a memory of seeing a certain newspaper article.

There's nothing here, Iwaizumi thought. As there shouldn't be. Oikawa was probably home by now.

Iwaizumi turned to leave the park, before noting a misshapen mound in the surrounding bushes, unlike the way that plant foliage normally stuck up from the soil. Unable to identify the mound in the rapidly approaching darkness, Iwaizumi approached slowly, convincing himself it was probably a bag of rubbish that someone had dumped. But the mound was not anywhere as round as a bag of rubbish should be, it was rather long and narrow, almost shaped like a-

Iwaizumi refused to let himself register what he was looking at until he was standing right next to it. He could almost pretend Oikawa was sleeping were it not for the fact that he was abnormally still, and that his neck had dark marks that Iwaizumi could still see, even with the poor lighting.

Deep down, from the moment he had spotted the irregularity, he knew what it was. Who it was.

Iwaizumi's knees buckled beneath him, his hands grabbing wildly at Oikawa's still-warm wrist. Iwaizumi could not help the wetness that suddenly spilled from his eyes, the choked gasps that he barely registered originating from him, as he buried his head in Oikawa's chest and pulled roughly at Oikawa's clothing, screaming.

He stayed there until his voice gave out, until the surface he was resting his face on was soaked from his tears. He ignored the loud crackling noises that seemed to surround him, the unusual brightness that he could see around him out of the corner of his eyes. Iwaizumi just felt so sonumb, so spent, so empty.

It was over. He had failed.

* * *

Iwaizumi was not sure when he had moved away from Oikawa, but when he came to, he found himself standing in the middle of an unfamiliar alleyway, standing in near-darkness. He was also slightly out of breath, and nearby he registered the sounds of sirens going off. Thinking that maybe the police had come to investigate the crime scene in the park, Iwaizumi started to move forward but stopped after several seconds, suddenly registering his height compared to that of a nearby street sign. He would have no problem touching the sign itself with his current height. There was no way he could have done that as a ten year old.

With an increasing sense of trepidation, Iwaizumi felt for the wallet he knew he would find in the pocket of his too-tight coat, and opened it. His student ID from Tokyo University stared back at him, forcing him back to reality. Iwaizumi's breath suddenly hitched in his throat. He was back in 2014. Oikawa was dead again. He was- he was- what was he doing? The noises from the sirens suddenly reminded of the events that had led to his Revival back to 2004, the events that felt that had happened a lifetime ago. Iwaizumi ignored the buzzing that he suddenly felt in his other coat pocket, completely drowning in his thoughts.

He was running away from a crime scene. Dead body in the car. Takeru. There was no way that anyone would believe that he did not kill him. Who would believe him about the rabbit that he had crashed into? No one sane. They would probably all think that Iwaizumi Hajime, the lonely, but high achieving maths major at Tokyo University, finally snapped.

Feeling the adrenalin pulse into his veins, Iwaizumi let his instincts take over as he ran, away from the blaring noises of the sirens. He did not care that he had no knowledge of this particular neighbourhood. He did not care that running would probably achieve nothing. Oikawa was dead again, Takeru was dead, he had completed and utterly failed, why should he even care what would happen to him? It was all over, wasn't it? Revival dumping him back in the mess that he had initially escaped from was the clear response.

Iwaizumi felt the same buzzing coming from his pocket earlier, and this time he figured out it was coming from his phone. Slowing his run to a brisk walk, Iwaizumi picked up the call, not caring that it came from an unknown number, letting himself catch his breath for several seconds before responding.

"Iwaizumi speaking," Iwaizumi finally answered, voice defeated but not really caring how he sounded.

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the call.


	6. (2014) Observer

"Iwaizumi? Are you alright?" Iwaizumi picked up a hint of anxiety from the female voice on the other end of the call, remaining silent for several seconds as his brisk walk slowed into a more relaxed pace. He found the voice vaguely familiar but was unable to place where he recognised the voice from.

"Iwaizumi?" the voice repeated, the panic clearer in her voice this time. Iwaizumi swallowed, the back of his throat feeling dry as he attempted to reply, still unable to recognise the voice.

"Who is this?" Iwaizumi finally asked, tone neither hostile nor friendly. His walk had taken him away from the residential area that he had initially fled to and towards the edge of a slow-moving river. Above him, Iwaizumi could hear the sounds of cars rushing by as they sped across the bridge. The bridge also blocked out the light cast out by the moon, creating a dark shadow for Iwaizumi to hide in as he waited for a response.

"It's Michimiya Yui. We were in the same class in elementary school. Do you still remember me?" Iwaizumi let out a grunt of recognition as he eventually connected the voice on the phone with the cheerful, brown-haired girl in his class.

"Yeah. You sat behind me."

"Where are you right now?" Iwaizumi looked around his surroundings, looking for any signs that he could use to definitively confirm his location. However, now that the adrenalin rush from his mad escape was wearing off, Iwaizumi felt his guard and sense of suspicion rise. As far as he remembered, after elementary school he did not have any contact with Michimiya.

"Why do you want to know?" Iwaizumi clutched his phone tighter, ready to hang up if needed.

Michimiya took a deep breath before responding. "You're on the evening news as a suspect for murder. But I know you didn't do it."

"You see my name in the news, remember me from elementary school, and decide to call me even though I'm on the run?" Iwaizumi could not help the astonishment that leaked out from his voice, nerves on edge as he attempted to figure out Michimiya's motives. "We weren't even that close."

"I will explain everything if you let me!" Desperation was clear in Michimiya's voice as she replied, volume rising. "Please, tell me where you are. I live in Tokyo right now, so I can pick you up."

"How do I know you won't just turn me into the police?" Iwaizumi was not sure why he was so reluctant to tell Michimiya where he was. If he truly did not care about what was going to happen to him, what would be the harm in telling?

Another drawn out breath from the other end of the line. "Because of Oikawa. Someone who tried so hard to save his best friend wouldn't kill another child that age."

"What?" Iwaizumi gasped, feeling like he had been punched in the gut. It was the absolute last thing that he had expected Michimiya to say. Iwaizumi started shaking, wetness leaking out from the corner of his eyes, arm dropping to his side. He spent several seconds trying to calm himself down, before forcing his arm back up so he could speak. Michimiya remained silent as she waited for him to respond.

"I'm under a bridge," Iwaizumi began, sounding resigned and leaning against the supporting cement pillar, sliding down until he was in a seated position. "Next to what I think is the Arakawa River."

"Anything else?" Michimiya prompted, losing the panic that was in her voice earlier.

Iwaizumi forced his muddled brain to think, trying to recall any signs that he had seen on the drive back to Takeru's place.

"Near Kosuge…I think."

"That's all I need. Iwaizumi, please stay where you are, I'll be there soon ok?" Michimiya's voice was both positive and reassuring, however Iwaizumi felt oddly disconnected as he agreed, holding the phone to his ear long after the call had ended.

Without the phone call and Michimiya to distract him, and now that Iwaizumi had finally stopped moving around, his mind was now able to fully focus on his current situation. The reality of everything that had happened, past and present sank in fully, the shaking and sobs that Iwaizumi had initially managed to repress returning with a vengeance. The image of Oikawa dead again in that park was fully burned into his retinas, even as he sobbed and wrapped his arms around his knees he could not get that image out of his head.

Iwaizumi was not aware of time passing until he felt a gentle touch on his back, feeling another presence rub his back in an attempt to comfort him. Michimiya placed one arm around Iwaizumi's shoulder and the other around his waist, attempting to hoist him up from his position on the ground and failing. She let out an anxious chuckle as Iwaizumi looked up, eyes red and face still streaked with tears.

"I don't think I can pick you up," she said nervously, avoiding eye contact as she looked around at anything but Iwaizumi. "You're much bigger than I remember!"

Iwaizumi felt himself raise an eyebrow as he looked directly at Michimiya, seeing her as a twenty year old for the first time. He was grateful for the fact that his tears had mostly dried up, but knew that he would still come across as a massive mess to Michimiya.

"Not-not that it's a bad thing…being big," Michimiya said weakly, interpreting Iwaizumi's blank face as annoyance or possibly anger. Iwaizumi felt a small trace of a smile appear as he slowly stood up, feeling an ache in his legs as he moved them.

"It's fine," Iwaizumi said once he was fully standing. "What are we doing?"

"I'll take you to my place for now," Michimiya replied, motioning for Iwaizumi to follow her as they walked out of the shadow cast by the moonlight. "I know everything must be really difficult for you, but I promise that I'll tell you everything that I know."

Iwaizumi hesitated when they arrived at Michimiya's parked car several minutes later, not fully willing to get in. Whilst Michimiya had not yet proved untrustworthy, she had not fully explained her motives either and why she was willing to go as far as she was currently to help Iwaizumi out.

"Why though?" Iwaizumi asked as Michimiya unlocked her car. "Why do you want to help me? You do realise what could happen to you if they find me, right?"

Michimiya made eye contact with Iwaizumi, her eyes blazing with determination. "I know exactly what can happen." Michimiya paused, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "But I want to help you save Oikawa."

"Oikawa's dead," Iwaizumi said automatically, taking a step back and shaking his head as the dreaded memories started to flood back. "He's been dead a long time."

Michimiya opened the passenger door of her car. "For most of us," she said cryptically, her body language pleading with Iwaizumi to get into the car. "Please Iwaizumi, this is not a chat we want to have out here. The police are still lurking around this area."

Iwaizumi gave Michimiya one last look before finally getting into the car, hoping that he had not temporarily removed himself from one mess only to find himself into another that was worse.

The drive was initially silent, with Iwaizumi staring out the window and looking at the sky, the twinkling stars reminding him of Oikawa. He also felt Michimiya's eyes on him as she checked on him using the car mirrors as they drove. Iwaizumi noticed the tension in Michimiya's hands as she gripped the steering wheel, and felt that sooner, rather than later, that she would finally let out what was on her mind.

"Iwaizumi," she said softly. "What exactly happened?"

Iwaizumi looked at Michimiya as she drove, letting out a resigned sigh. He had known this question was coming.

"I was tutoring a new student," Iwaizumi began, determined to keep the details brief and to the point. He did not want to linger on this discussion any longer than he really had to. "On the way home, my car hit a rabbit that I'm fairly certain was deliberately run into the road." Iwaizumi closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath as he tried not to let the painful memory overwhelm him. Despite this, he felt new tears welling up again.

"I went to check what was going on and when I went back to the car he-" Iwaizumi felt his voice choke up, unable to continue. Images started flashing uncontrollably through his mind. "He was-"

"That's enough, Iwaizumi," Michimiya said, turning off the main road and moving into a quieter residential area. "I think I get the picture."

"He reminded me of Oikawa," Iwaizumi said in a gasp, clutching his head in his hands. "I just saw Oikawa and I panicked and ran because not again,not again-"

"Iwaizumi!" Michimiya forced the car into an abrupt stop, the recoil momentarily snapping Iwaizumi out of his panicked state as his hands reached out for the nearest thing he could reach to steady himself. Iwaizumi registered the grey interior of a carpark as he raised his head, sucking air into his lungs rapidly as Michimiya looked at him with concern.

"Are you a bit better now?" Michimiya started rubbing his back again, regret in her eyes. "I shouldn't have asked."

"No…. it's fine." Iwaizumi closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the car seat. "He was Oikawa's nephew too. Sounds like his entire family fell apart after Oikawa died."

Michimiya looked startled as she turned off the engine and unbuckled her seat belt.

"We're here. This is the parking for my complex." She opened the glove box and threw Iwaizumi a scarf and a face mask, which he caught whilst giving her a questioning expression. "There are cameras in the corridor. You can pretend you're sick or something when you're following me up."

Iwaizumi nodded, slowly sliding out of the car and adjusting the scarf and mask so it covered most of his face. He followed Michimiya up the lift to her apartment, mind focused on one main statement he recalled Michimiya saying earlier. I want to help you save Oikawa.

Michimiya threw her keys onto the nearby kitchen bench as they entered her apartment, Iwaizumi slowly making his way to the nearby couch and sitting down on it with a gentle plop. Iwaizumi stared blankly at the nearby coffee table for several minutes as he registered noises coming from Michimiya's kitchen. She eventually emerged with two ceramic mugs in her hands, both steaming as she gently set it on the coffee table.

"I think we'll need this tonight." Michimiya pushed one of the mugs towards Iwaizumi, who took a small sip from it, feeling the warm liquid make its way throughout his body. Iwaizumi let the steam from the mug warm up his face, not realising until now that he had in fact been freezing.

"Michimiya," Iwaizumi began, looking away from the mug. "What exactly do you mean by wanting to help me save Oikawa?"

Iwaizumi watched as Michimiya took a sip from her mug, her hands shaking slightly. She looked nervous as she looked at Iwaizumi, chewing her lip slightly.

"I know…that you have an ability to travel through time." Iwaizumi's eyes widened at her statement, mouth agape in shock. "I've always thought of you as a 'Traveller', because you travel through time repeatedly."

"Revival," Iwaizumi interrupted, finding his voice. "I always called it Revival." Iwaizumi set his mug down, afraid that he would spill the liquid from the shock of the revelation. "How on earth do you know?"

Michimiya mimicked Iwaizumi's motion, the mug making a slight noise as it touched the table. "You're not the only one with an ability. I call myself an 'Observer'. I can't do what you do. I can't travel through time at all. Also, I can't say that I know the specifics of what your Revival does – I just know that you go back in time a few minutes each time." Michimiya sighed as she tried to organise her thoughts, hands moving as she tried to explain. "The best way to put my ability would be like this – when you experience a Revival, you remember everything that happened each time you try right?"

Iwaizumi nodded slowly, wondering what Michimiya was getting at. "I remember everything too. Every time you go back, I know that time has gone backwards because I need to relieve the next few minutes all over again. Everyone around us doesn't notice a thing, but we do."

Michimiya looked back at Iwaizumi again, her expression slightly pained. "So it was quite a shock to suddenly find myself back in elementary school, when a moment earlier I was watching television in my apartment. And right now, whilst it's a relief to know that nothing on the surface has changed too much, I don't know what other effects your Revival has had."

Iwaizumi was not sure what he could say in that moment, digesting and believing everything that he had just heard. Should he apologise? Feel relieved that there was finally someone he could confide in, someone who would believe him? He thought for several seconds before replying.

"My Revival," Iwaizumi began, staring at the coffee table. "Normally takes me back a few minutes in time in order to prevent a death. I have to try again if the victim dies, until I successfully save their life."

"Do you know why you ended up back ten years ago? And why your Revival didn't trigger when your student was killed? Surely you would have been able to prevent that?" Michimiya looked focused as she ran through several possibilities in her head, pointing out the irregularities she noticed from Iwaizumi's explanation.

"No…." Iwaizumi's voice trailed off, his expression slightly helpless. "I have no idea why I ended up back in 2004. And then managed to get back here." He played with his mug as he continued, mug squeaking against the coffee table. "I know why Revival didn't trigger with Takeru. I was 'out of range' so to speak. I ended up walking away too far from him." Iwaizumi's voice broke, his expression upset. "I should never have left him alone."

Michimiya was uncertain as to what to say next, feeling it would be awkward again to try and console Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi and Michimiya sat in silence for several minutes before Michimiya spoke again, changing the topic.

"On the topic of abilities, there's also one other person in Miyagi with a time-related ability, because I can see it too when he changes something, but I've never met him before." Iwaizumi sat up suddenly, interest clearly written on his face.

"Is he like me?" Iwaizumi interrupted abruptly, heart pounding. "Do they have Revival?"

Michimiya shook her head. "Yours is reactive. Your ability only triggers in response to something else, am I right?" Iwaizumi nodded in confirmation. "That other guy, his is pre-emptive, so he can see something happening, and choose whether or not to change it. So I call him an 'Influencer'. If he does, I can see what future he changed, just brief flashes. I also have a swarm of green butterflies suddenly appear every time one of you two do something." She smiled weakly at Iwaizumi, taking another sip. "I know, it doesn't really make sense."

Iwaizumi let out a half-hearted chuckle. "I see blue butterflies right before Revival takes me back every time."

"Ah, I see." Michimiya looked slightly relieved, another smile appearing.

"Do you know who it is? The person who can see the future?"

"No," Michimiya replied, looking slightly disappointed. "It's always been hard to tell with the flashes. At best, I know it's probably someone our age, he plays volleyball-" At Iwaizumi's puzzled look she elaborated. "A lot of the futures that are changed are in regards to volleyball. If I had to guess, I think the uniform I kept seeing was from Shiratorizawa maybe? My volleyball team never did that well in playoffs, we were always knocked out in the first round and we didn't stay for long." A slight smile appeared on Michimiya's face as she recalled several memories. "Our boys team won Nationals though."

"I stopped following volleyball after Oikawa…died," Iwaizumi admitted, part of him feeling slightly ashamed that he had isolated himself as he did.

"I can understand why." Michimiya paused for several seconds, looking deep in thought before she spoke again. "I have one thing I want to confirm. Did you always have Revival, or did it only appear after a certain amount of time?"

Iwaizumi vividly recalled the first time that he had experienced Revival. First year of middle school. "First time it happened, I was twelve."

"I knew it," Michimiya breathed out, relief audible. "I had my suspicions."

"About…?"

"I was born with my Observer ability, Iwaizumi," Michimiya said, raising her right hand and holding up two fingers. "And I've always been aware of two others my entire life who were constantly changing the flow of time. I'm fairly certain they were born with their abilities too."

Iwaizumi digested what Michimiya just said, the gears in his brain turning. If there had always been two people throughout her entire life then-

"There was someone else before you that had your Revival ability, Iwaizumi," Michimiya announced, confirming Iwaizumi's line of thought. "And this I think, is key to saving Oikawa in the future."

"It was Oikawa, wasn't it?" Iwaizumi said, voicing the lingering suspicion in his mind. Oikawa's frequent rate of injuries, the occasional odd behaviour, Oikawa's reluctance to voice what he was thinking during that final fight that he had with Iwaizumi the day before he was killed the second time around. "That idiot. That stubborn idiot."

But Iwaizumi never truly blamed Oikawa. He blamed himself. Iwaizumi wanted to cry again. He should have recognised the signs, and never pushed Oikawa that far. Iwaizumi covered his face, the sense of loss hitting him hard again.

"It's not your fault, Iwaizumi. It took me a long time to realise it was Oikawa, not you." Realising that Iwaizumi was unlikely to reply again for a while, Michimiya continued. "I thought it was you, because you so obviously forgot the seating arrangements when you got back, and it made sense with the general flow of time. But you also just made it clear that you only ever managed to use Revival after Oikawa died, meaning someone else was using it before then."

"Then how did you realise it was Oikawa who had it first? And how come I ended up with Revival in the end?" Iwaizumi's voice was still muffled, covered by his hands.

"Both times, you were the first to find Oikawa's body. It's possible because you were the first person that the ability passed on to you. Possibly through touch, or maybe your friendship, we may never know." Michimiya smiled sadly, but the expression was missed by Iwaizumi who was still clutching his head in his hands.

"As for how I realised that Oikawa had Revival first…there were several Revivals that Monday afternoon after we returned to the past." Iwaizumi sharply raised his head, trying to remember what had happened that day. But all he could recall was the incident with Oikawa running onto the road to stop the girl being run over by the car.

"The girl…and the puppy?" Iwaizumi whispered, but already knowing to be true. Michimiya nodded slightly in confirmation.

"I was walking home behind you, and I saw it all. The first time the girl was killed. Oikawa tried several times before he finally got it right."

"I really am an idiot." The level of frustration that Iwaizumi currently had was beyond anything that he had ever felt before. An expression that Iwaizumi was unable to recognise became visible on Michimiya's face.

"Better an idiot than a coward!" Iwaizumi was surprised by the amount of venom that suddenly appeared in Michimiya's voice as she practically yelled out her last statement. It was not something that he had thought possible considering her demeanour. "I made up a question during that trivia session in class to see if I could catch you out with that prime minister question."

Iwaizumi was confused by the sudden change in the conversation, vaguely recalling said quiz, before Michimiya continued. "I was too scared to ask you outright whether you came back in time and had an ability like me. I had all the pieces of the puzzle in my hands. But I did absolutely nothing."

Michimiya looked furious, hands shaking and tears coming out of the corner of her eyes as further words gushed out of her mouth. "I knew that my classmates were going to die. I'd spent enough time searching up the murders in my free time as a teenager." Michimiya shook her head as the tears leaked out freely, running down her cheeks. "But instead, I was scared that I was wrong and you'd think weirdly of me for asking you such a question, and I just let it all happen all over again."

"That's enough!" Iwaizumi stood up, reaching over to Michimiya and giving her a hug as she sobbed into his chest, muttering words of self-loathing. "You're helping me now."

"Iwaizumi, it might not be enough." Michimiya's head peeked out from Iwaizumi's embrace, her eyes red. "It's not enough. I'm assuming that you'll be able to go back again, even though you have no idea how you managed to back the first time!"

"That's up to me then," Iwaizumi said, determined, trying to make clear connections between the events that had played out. "But thinking back to both times that I jumped large amounts of time…I was really upset and stressed. When I went back to 2004, it was just after I found Takeru and I just completely lost it. And coming back here…. was just after I found Oikawa the second time. And if you hadn't called me, I'd have probably…. probably…"

Michimiya moved her head, movement limited by Iwaizumi's embrace, but he knew it to be a nod of agreement. She slowly pulled away from Iwaizumi, sniffing and pulling out a tissue from the nearby tissue box to clear up her face. Michimiya sat silently for several minutes, occasionally letting out the occasional hiccup before she looked ready to talk again.

"My point before I lost it a little," Michimiya looked sheepish as she said that, giving Iwaizumi a weak smile. "is that Oikawa's attempts to use Revival to save our classmates ended up getting him killed instead."

"I would definitely agree with that," Iwaizumi said quietly. He had seen Oikawa's anguish after Matsukawa's death and the stubborn set in his eyes to find the killer. Oikawa also had not hesitated to run after the girl that Monday, also putting himself in danger.

"The first time on Friday 10th December, 2004, there were about six or seven jumps in time. I remember vividly because I started finding it annoying that I was forced to redo the same bit of homework over and over, and it was a bit…unusual so to speak." Michimiya looked slightly apologetic as she continued. "But the second time I lived through Friday 10th December, it was different."

"I don't think there was any Revivals, was there?" Iwaizumi asked, realising that his actions that afternoon had effectively put Oikawa far enough from whatever happened to Matsukawa that Revival was never triggered.

"That was you then…" Michimiya's voice trailed off as she searched for confirmation from Iwaizumi, who nodded. "But yes, no Revivals at all. And Matsukawa died first this time."

"So Oikawa the first time was in the wrong place at the wrong time and whilst saving Matsukawa was killed instead?" Iwaizumi voiced his current train of thoughts aloud, seeking Michimiya's opinion.

"Believe so. But the killer must've been after Matsukawa specifically, because he died anyway the first time, just one week later."

"Any thoughts on why the locations were the same? Particularly the second one?" At this, Michimiya shook her head.

"No idea. Do you have any thoughts?"

Iwaizumi let himself gather his thoughts for several seconds before continuing. "Not on location, but if I had to guess what happened to Oikawa the second time around, I think he found something, and the killer went after him to keep him quiet."

Michimiya looked at Iwaizumi sharply, surprise evident on her face. "What makes you say that?"

Iwaizumi took a deep breath as he easily recollected the events of the day week. "Oikawa kept disappearing after volleyball practice to do something. I confronted him on Thursday, and we got into a fight. The idiot probably thought that Revival would stop him getting seriously hurt." Iwaizumi did not realise he was shaking until Michimiya moved towards him, rubbing his back once again. "Revival forces you to keep trying until the victim is saved, but I guess it doesn't apply if the user dies, does it?"

Iwaizumi was now openly crying again, feeling the bitterness and anger swirling within, both aimed towards himself but also towards Revival. "That fight was the last time I saw him alive too." Oikawa's angry and hurt expression. The venom in his voice. They kept replaying themselves over and over again in Iwaizumi's mind. "The first time, I said goodbye to him as he waited for his sister. Oikawa wasn't mad at me. We didn't have a fight. I pretty much led him to his death the second time around!"

"Stop it, Iwaizumi," Michimiya said, firmly handing Iwaizumi a tissue. "We both have regrets. We both feel guilty. All we can do is move forward."

Michimiya stood up, picking up the now-empty mugs on the coffee table. "I think we should call it a night. There's a lot to think about, and we've both kind of let it all out emotionally."

Iwaizumi stood up in protest. "I can keep going. I've failed Oikawa twice. I won't fail him a third time."

"No," Michimiya said with a sense of finality. "You need to rest. You're worn out, mentally and physically, I don't know exactly how you feel, but you really need to rest. I'll take tomorrow off work."

"Fine." Iwaizumi recognised stubbornness when he saw it, and knew that once someone reached that stage of determination that they were not going to budge at all.

The relief was clear on Michimiya's face as he agreed. Iwaizumi sank back into the couch, the sudden silence making the weight of the discussion that they had just had all the heavier. He closed his eyes, hoping to let himself slowly unwind. Iwaizumi had been napping for about ten minutes before he felt himself being roughly shaken awake by Michimiya, who once again looked frantic.

"Iwaizumi," she said frantically, phone in her hand. "I don't think it's safe for you to stay in Tokyo right now."

"What?" Iwaizumi blinked several times, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness as he attempted to shake off the exhaustion he was feeling.

"It popped up when I was scrolling through my phone." Michimiya handed her phone over to Iwaizumi, who took a brief look at the article that was opened. Iwaizumi's face visibly paled as he scrolled through to the end.

"I didn't realise that Takeru's dad was a big shot in the police." Iwaizumi felt a slightly hysterical chuckle come out as his situation worsened once again, the article making it clear that Iwaizumi was practically a dead man walking. "I never seem to be able to catch a break."

"I can't let them get to you," Michimiya said desperately, running towards the kitchen and returning several seconds later with her coat and keys. "You haven't had time to find out everything about the murders yet."

"Maybe that's just fate telling me that it's over," Iwaizumi said with resignation.

"No!" Both of them looked surprised at Michimiya's sudden outburst as she helped Iwaizumi pull himself up from the couch. "I believe we can fix this. We will fix this together."

"Where are we going to go then?" Iwaizumi slid on the face mask that he had used earlier, also surrounding himself with the warmth of Michimiya's scarf.

"The reports said you left your car behind and that you are on foot, so the police wouldn't expect you to get far. I'll drive you to Sendai."

"Michimiya, that's too far," Iwaizumi protested, wanting to stop in his tracks but Michimiya forcibly pulled him behind her as they semi-jogged through the corridors of her apartment building.

"This started in Sendai, and it will end in Sendai. It'll be the last place they'll check for you! I can do the drive in four hours if I speed."

Iwaizumi found himself unable to protest any further as he slid back into Michimiya's car, engine starting before he had even managed to shut the door. Iwaizumi closed his eyes in resignation, attempting to nap, but looping images of Oikawa and blue butterflies swirled throughout his mind as they drove.

* * *

It was still dark when Iwaizumi finally opened his eyes, car still in motion. A brief look outside revealed an empty highway surrounded by trees, and in the distance Iwaizumi could see the outlines of familiar buildings that he had not seen in years.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Michimiya said, noticing Iwaizumi shuffling in his seat as he tried to shake off the groggy feeling from his poor quality nap.

Iwaizumi grunted in confirmation as they continued driving. He was content to watch the scenery of Sendai get closer and closer, before an unanticipated urge struck his mind.

"Michimiya," Iwaizumi began, voice sounding hoarse from its lack of use. "Do you mind if we stop over somewhere first?"

Michimiya's eyes briefly flicked over to Iwaizumi's in curiosity before returning to the road. "It depends on where. Is it safe?"

"Should be." Iwaizumi was silent for several seconds, thinking of the best way he could voice his request, before deciding to say it outright. "I want to visit Oikawa's grave."

Michimiya's face morphed into an expression of concern as she slowed the car down, driving closer to the speed limit that they had been exceeding. "You sure you want to do that? Why?"

"I never visited once," Iwaizumi admitted. "I never got over his death and part of me felt that if I never saw his grave, I could almost pretend that he truly wasn't dead. Now I feel I need to accept this properly before I can move on."

"I can't say that I completely understand," Michimiya said, after several seconds of silence. "But I agree that you should go once. I know where he is, he's close to my grandparents."

"Thank you." Iwaizumi did not feel that anything else needed to be said as Michimiya turned off the empty highway, moving into a narrower street surrounded by additional trees.

It was still mostly dark when Michimiya finally parked the car, however a slight glow from the approaching sunrise could be faintly seen on the horizon. Michimiya stifled a yawn as she led Iwaizumi through the cemetery with the assistance of her phone flashlight, turning through what felt like a twisting maze of family graves. They finally stopped at a marble monument decorated with vases of flowers, as well as the kanji for 'Oikawa' written in large calligraphic font.

"I kind of wish that we had something to leave behind as an offering," Michimiya said, feeling the need to whisper as she bowed respectfully in front of the grave. Iwaizumi was silent as he closed his eyes, bowing and remembering the more positive memories that he shared with Oikawa. He allowed himself to get lost in the positive memories before slowly opening his eyes again, the faint rays from the sunrise starting to get brighter along the horizon.

The sudden crunch of a heavy weight stepping on stone caused both Michimiya and Iwaizumi to turn around with panic, spotting a tall, thin shadow approaching them.

"Iwaizumi, we better get out of here," Michimiya whispered with worry, grabbing Iwaizumi's arm. Iwaizumi found himself shaking his head, moving towards the approaching figure. He felt extremely uneasy as they approached, but also had the unconscious urge to go closer, feeling that there was something familiar about the shadowy figure.

"Iwaizumi!"

"Hajime-kun…. it's…. been a…. while." The voice was feminine and broke in unusual places. Iwaizumi and Michimiya stood frozen as the features of the shadowy figure became clearer, with long, tangled chocolate brown hair framing a gaunt, pale face. Iwaizumi could not control the sudden gasp that he released as he recognised the figure that stopped in front of them.

"Iwaizumi, who is that?" Michimiya was clinging to Iwaizumi's arm to an extent, fear evident on her face as it became clear that they would not be able to leave without a confrontation.

"Oikawa-san…" Iwaizumi breathed out, eyes wide as he fully took in the state of the figure in front of him.

Iwaizumi was not sure how to classify the smile that suddenly appeared on Oikawa Aimi's face as she heard her name.


End file.
